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Ericsson Racing Team holding fort despite further keel problem
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| Volvo Ocean Race - Ericsson Racing Team holding fort despite further keel problem |
| CAPETOWN, SOUTH AFRICA-(1-12-2005) The Ericsson Racing Team has less than 450
nautical miles to go until its imminent arrival in Cape Town,
concluding Leg One of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06. Despite a
trouble strewn first night, followed by recent keel failures, the team
is in fourth position and fighting on. If Ericsson continues at her
current speed she will arrive into Cape Town late on Friday evening,
2 December, taking joint second place on the overall leaderboard,
just one point behind ABN Amro One.
It has been a fast yet eventful leg for the boys onboard Ericsson.
Many of the teams experienced problems early on in the race and
Ericsson lost a spinnaker in the water which later came back to
haunt her. Despite a triumphant second place rounding of the
scoring gate at Fernando de Noronha, the team has since been
hampered by setbacks. They picked up the strong westerly breeze in
the South Atlantic, with high hopes of catching the leaders during a
swift ride to Cape Town. But a couple of days in heavy reaching
conditions without their fractional reaching kite cost them dearly.
Monday night saw the biggest setback of all, when the team
experienced failure to their hydraulic keel system in the middle of
the night. `We were blast reaching along at 26 knots when a loud
bang was heard and we discovered that the keel was free floating
but still attached to the rams.` explained Australian Tom Braidwood.
Skipper Neal McDonald (GBR) slowed the boat as it rolled onto one
side and Richard Mason (NZL) quickly discovered the problem and
locked the keel into position.
Yesterday, having sailed for nearly two days on starboard, Ericsson
had further problems with her keel system. With the keel slightly
canted to the starboard side, a wind shift meant the team needed to
gybe and the keel became loose again. As Neal McDonald explains,
it was a full team effort to recover the boat: `Richard [Mason] and his
band of merry helpers down below wrestled with spanners, pipes,
hand pumps and basically anything they could get their hands on to
refill the rams with hydraulic oil and lock them in place. Full credit to
them they managed to tame it and lock the keel in the centre.`
McDonald continues: `The three leading boats have shot ahead and
our job now is to make sure we finish in one piece.` There is no way
of catching the leaders as ABN One has already arrived and Ericsson
is only sailing at about 70% of her capacity. `Nevertheless the sailing
conditions are excellent,` comments McDonald.
Estimated arrival time for Ericsson is currently 20.00 GMT on 2
December. However, Cape Town is notorious for its ridge of high
pressure as the yachts enter Table Bay and she may well arrive much
later into the night.
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Source: Annabel Merrison - Press Officer Ericsson Racing Team |
