Saturday 20 June 2009

VOR: TELEFÓNICA BLUE LEG NINE DAY 6 QFB; received 19.06.09 0838 GMT


Telefonica Blue passing Hamlet Castle, Denmark, on leg 9 from Marstrand to Stockholm. Image copyright Gabri Olivo/Telefonica Blue/Volvo Ocean Race.

by Bouwe Bekking (skipper)

We have been teasing Daryl Wislang over the last 24 hours. Why, because he is the only one of the crew sailing the boat back to Spain after the race is finished.

We told him the wind is always comes from this direction, and most of the time with more pressure and that the current is most likely to change direction as well, so that it is against them. This will mean a slow beat all the way to Kiel. Talking about the current, we have been dodging current against us all the way, in some places it was running over three knots, but luckily we have kept some breeze, so progress has been ok.


Telefonica Blue passing Helsingor, Denmark, on leg 9 from Marstrand to Stockholm. Image copyright Gabri Olivo/Telefonica Blue/Volvo Ocean Race.

On Saturday, we will most likely lift the boat quickly out of the water, to have a good look at the repair we did and to adjust the rollers on the canard, as it is running a bit stiff. Our inshore grinders have prepared the sails already for the inshore on Sunday, so most of our guys will have a day off.

There is no time to have a sail in the area where we do the inshore race on Sunday, but I am not too worried about that. I have been sailing a lot on lakes, and know what to expect. It will be very shifty and puffy, and scenarios where one minute you look good and the next minute your position might look terrible will appear. So we start with a clean sheet of paper, and try keep our track record of podium places going, of course the best will be winning the last one.

33 miles to go to Almagrundet, the lighthouse where we turn the corner into the finish. Let’s hope we keep the wind pressure, to get this horrible leg over as quick as possible!

Volvo Ocean Race

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