A 330-nautical mile run in 24 hours is pedestrian for the Volvo Open 70 yacht, but it’s been enough to push Ericsson 4 onto the stern of Telefónica Blue in the battle for the fleet lead on Leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race.
The Spanish boat has held the lead since Sunday morning, but overall race leader Ericsson 4, skippered by Brazilian Torben Grael, has steadily closed the gap. In the past 24 hours Ericsson 4 has halved its deficit to eight nautical miles at the 1307 GMT position report.
‘A couple of active cumulus clouds kept us busy last night but seem to have done us no harm as we managed to gain some ground on Telefonica Blue and open up a few miles on the chasing Ericsson 3, Puma and Telefónica Black, with whom we had spent most of yesterday,’ said Ericsson 4 bowman Ryan Godfrey.
Grael’s International crew separated from the pack in a cloud line, while Ericsson 3 languished behind … DetailsÂ