Just 48 hours into leg 1 and the all the boats, except Telefoncia Blue (see Dave Kneale's pic below) who had to serve a 12 hour pit stop penalty for repairs, are through the straits and out into the Atlantic. It is a close battle for the top five boats with just 9 miles separating them. The current standings are 1) Ericsson 4, 2) PUMA, 3) Telefoncia Black, 4) Ericsson 3, 5) Green Dragon. As Green Dragon's Ian Walker settled into his watch system he accounted for the less than impressive display off the start line two days earlier which was rooted in a keel issue that the team are still trying to resolve.
"Despite a series of problems at the start you would have to say that it has been a good first 24 hours for the Green Dragon, Walker said.
"We also have Tom Braidwood working full time to rectify our keel issues. Other than that, the sea is flat the sky is clear and we have more boats behind us than in front so life is pretty good!"
Limerick's Ger O'Rourke reported to afloat.ie that inspite of their place at the back of the fleet the crew are happy with the position and glad to be sailing:
"What a way to start the Volvo ocean race! We ripped out of Alicante at 25-28 knots of boat speed, sailed for 12 fast and furious hours.. and then parked the boat. A massive hole swallowed us and digested us for evening supper. In the course of 30 minutes, the wind speed dropped from 25 knots to under 5. It felt like we smashed into a brick wall…we simply stopped."
Race updates from the organisers www.volvooceanrace.org and from the Green Dragons here .
