Telefonica Blue took first place in the most spectacular and dramatic race finish in VOR history! After sailing for over nine days and 1,950 miles, the race for the finish in Singapore was so close for the fist four teams that at times team competitors could see the whites of each others eyes, which is rare in offshore racing.
“We pulled it off and all the guys did a marvelous job. We couldn't have wished for a better Christmas present,” skipper Bouwe Bekking said.
Telefonica Blue crossed the finish line at 14:51:22 GMT, around 17 minutes in front of Puma, 18 minutes ahead of Ericsson 3 and 19 minutes ahead of Ericsson 4.
The third place finish of Ericsson 3 cost their team mates on Ericsson 4 a point which could prove to be valuable later in the race. Torben Grael, the skipper, seemed philosophical about the turn of events during the final day of racing on the way to Singapore. His team was leading leg 3 by 30 miles previous to the final day heading into Singapore. Having won the previous two legs they looked well-positioned to secure a third. But they sailed into a hole and could only watch as the others first caught and then passed them.
Telefonica Black finished overnight in 5th place, followed the next morning by Green Dragon (pictured below), Team Russia, and Delta Lloyd. While docking the Green Dragon lost control and smashed into the dock sustaining damage to the bow. Although embarrassing, no one was hurt; the repair was very straightforward.
The Green Dragon, hailing from Ireland and having two home ports (Qingdao & Galway, Ireland) are sailing a craft that was manufactured at McConaghy Boats in ZhuHai, China and retrofitted from parts around the world in the UK. Green Dragon Volvo Open 70 is truly a global affair, funded privately by a syndicate of Irish business people and a local Shandong industrial syndicate made up of three companies: Shandong Lingong, Weichai Power, and Triangle Group. Guo Chuan, a Qingdao native and Clipper Round the World Race veteran, is the crews Media Crew Member (MCM).
On January 10th, 2009 several IP races are scheduled, which will provide teams another opportunity to earn points before starting leg 4 to Qingdao's International Marina on January 18th, 2009 at 1:00pm local time. Their scheduled time of arrival is January 30th, 2009.
If some thought leg 3 was hard then leg 4 to Qingdao, which lies at 36N, takes hard to another level. Qingdao lies straight upwind. The boats will sail across the South China Sea and into the north-east trades. The fleet may choose to duck south of Taiwan to avoid the on coming south-west flowing current in the Taiwan Straits.
While in Qingdao, In-Port (IP) racing is scheduled for Saturday February 7th @ 1:00pm at the
Qingdao International Marina , weather permitting; two IP races are planned which should provide race fans with two hours of action, followed by a PRO-AM Race on Sunday, February 8th 2009.
Next Stop Qingdao. Godspeed !
Sources:
www.volvooceanrace.org
www.yachtsponsorship.com
Photo © Dave Kneale (VOR 2008/2009)
