Det går nu riktigt långsam mot målet i Indien för de åtta deltagarna i Volvo Ocean Race. Ericsson 4 har en ganska säker ledning med 57 Nm över Ericsson 3 när 700 Nm återstår av delsträckan. Men samtliga båtar seglar nu mycket sakta, vilket innebär under 10 knop. Ericsson 3 ligger tvåa, Green Dragon trea och Delta Lloyd (bilden) fyra.
Att det går trögt visar innehållet i detta E-mail från Ericsson 3:
ERICSSON 3 LEG TWO DAY 12 QFB: received 26.11.08 1256 GMT
We tried to protect the east for the Doldrums crossing, but did not want to go there alone, so we bailed out and lined up between Ericsson 4 and Puma yesterday night. That way we would experience the same conditions as them.
When daylight arrived, we were all close, with Ericsson 4 a few miles ahead and Puma a few miles behind. Ericsson 4 disappeared into a solid rain shower, and two position reports later, they are now 30 miles ahead of us, Puma 16 behind. Quite random, but at least no position changes for now. And the light zone seems to be following us north a bit, so we may stay in it for a while. It also looks very light for most the rest of the leg now. No more Saturday night arrival in Kochi, unfortunately!
Now we have just come to painful a complete stop. 0.00 on the boatspeed instrument on the mast. Some guys go for a swim, and there are heaps of small lazy whales around. The guys are continuously hunting for a cooler place on the boat. Not many were tempted by today’s hot lunch. Some are coming by the nav station to look at the nice pictures of the tropical cyclone near where we are going. It does not seem too bad for us at the moment, as it should weaken when it gets over land in India. But we keep watching it.
Gustav works long days, and sometimes falls asleep by the computer while writing texts for media, accidentally filling the pages with letters. Two days ago, he managed to rotate the contents on his display 90 degrees while asleep, and could not get it back. It made it extremely challenging for him to write texts and edit video, and made a good laugh for the others. I don’t know if he accidentally did it himself or if someone played him a joke for sleep writing.
The sea temperature is now 31 degrees, wind speed 1.3 knots from everywhere. Or nowhere.
Aksel Magdahl – navigator
Länk: www.volvooceanrace.org
