Wednesday 29 April 2009

VOR: TELEFÓNICA BLUE LEG SIX DAY 15 QFB: received 25.04.09 1629 GMT

by Simon Fisher (helmsman)

The last few days have been quite something. We have had 30+ knots of wind and we have been completely becalmed all in the space of 48 hours and to top that off, we have been VMG downwind, upwind and pretty much everywhere in between.

Sadly our stealth play didn't pay off and the call to gybe off early played into the hands of our opponents who managed to find more pressure to the north and slide on by. However despite being a little down, we are certainly not out and with sightings of various boats in the fleet in the last day there is still plenty of fire in our bellies to drive us forward to the finish in Boston.

On board has been pretty tough the last few days, the temperature has plummeted and the Gulf Stream proved just as furious as always, delivering big currents, nasty waves and some vicious squalls. Now spat out on the other side, we have had a morning of very little wind at all and many hours of doing all we can just to go forward. The good news now though is we are off again and moving nicely and the weather is like a cold spring morning which, whilst bracing, is clear and sunny which always brings a smile to peoples face, especially when the last day has been spent on the receiving end of a fire hose!!

Now with only a few hundred more miles to Boston, we have to take the fight to the very end...

Volvo Ocean Race

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