Wednesday 24 December 2008

VOR: KOSATKA TEAM RUSSIA LEG THREE DAY 7 QFB: received 18.12.08 0630 GMT

by Andreas Hanakamp, skipper

Very sorry for the guys on Delta Lloyd, I hope that they will make it safely to Singapore. Once in the Malacca Strait, they should be all right and will have no disadvantage in the light downwind conditions.

We were very happy last night with our performance, gaining with every sched on the whole fleet. The boat seems to be quick in these upwind conditions and we can push the boat hard, not fearing any breakages (touch wood again and again).

It seems we are laying the mark and the fleet will have to tack, how close we can come and whether we can overtake any boats depends on speed and the wind direction the fleet will experience after tacking. We will keep fighting for every mile until the finish line in Singapore. Ericsson 4 shows impressive speeds whenever they line up with other boats and Ericsson 3 is not far from that, we all could envy them a little bit.

Less than a week to Christmas and no Christmas feelings on board. It is too warm, too wet, the lack of lights in the streets, Christmas songs and shopping orgies. Still I hope we make it in time to spend Christmas with our families in Singapore or at home.

Volvo Ocean Race

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