Ericsson Racing Team finishes sixth in Cape Town

by Ericsson Racing Media on 27 Dec 2005 It was a day filled with action for the second in-port race of the Volvo Ocean Race in Cape Town, South Africa. With winds gusting up to 40 knots, the Volvo Open 70s certainly proved a handful. The Ericsson Racing Team finished in sixth position, picking up 2 points and placing them fourth overall with 11.5 points.


The start gun fired at 13.00 local time and the teams headed out in 25 knots of southeasterly breeze, which built throughout the afternoon. They sailed a triangular course followed by two windward-leeward legs, after a decision by the race committee to shorten the course.

ABN Amro One set the pace up the front and extended their lead throughout the race. Meanwhile the five boats behind sailed a cat and mouse race with positions constantly changing. The Volvo Open 70s put on a spectacular show, with many of them suffering broaches.

ABN Amro One finished first, outclassing the rest of the fleet with a 7 minute lead over movistar and 10 minutes ahead of third place ABN Amro Two.

After a disappointing start, Ericsson fought back into the thick of the fleet where boats continued swapping places throughout the race. At the end of the third beat, Ericsson suffered a breakage to its reef line whilst in sixth position, which ruined their chances of catching the leaders.

John Kostecki, in-port tactician for the Ericsson Racing Team, commented on his team's performance: ‘It was going well until the last windward mark where we broke a reef line and couldn't tack. It took the whole of the last run to get it sorted out. There were a lot of boats wiping out, but it all came down to crew work and how you dealt with the problems.’

Despite a disappointing performance, skipper Neal McDonald was able to see the positive side: ‘It was a very exciting race, with winds blowing up to 40 knots. We have had some small breakages, but the good news is that the boat performed well and is still in one piece which gives us confidence for the next leg.’

Quotes

Neal McDonald (GBR):
‘This was a very exciting race, with winds blowing up to 40 knots. It was very physical for the crew. We are not very happy with the result; this is obviously not what we expected. We have had some small breakages, most of all a reef line. But I don't want to blame our result on this. We made some mistakes. The good news is that the boat performed well and is still in one piece.’

Richard Mason (NZL):
‘Racing a sailing yacht in a fleet race in 40 knots of wind is something extraordinary. I was very interested to see how the keel movement system would perform after the work we have done since arriving in Cape Town. I am very happy because it has worked perfectly. Of course we would have loved to get a better result, but this shows the level of the fleet. ABN One sailed a very good race; they kept it simple, had a good start and were sailing fast.’

Magnus Woxen (SWE):
‘This was a very exciting race; the positions within the fleet were changing all the time and we really weren't allowed any mistake. We had a pretty bad start and then moved up to fourth, lost again, won again...And then we broke a reef line; this was the end of the race for us. The race was very physical. All the crewmembers had to work hard all through the race. I think the quality of our manoeuvres was very good.’

Tom Braidwood (AUS):
‘It was tough from the very beginning to the last second of the race. These boats are so physical, it is amazing. The end result is unfortunate, but this is yacht racing: you can't always be on top. The good points of the day are the quality of our crew work and the spirit on board. The boat was also fully loaded and we have had no other problems than a reef line. So we can say that we are ready for the next leg.’

Damian Foxall (IRL):
‘It was my first race onboard Ericsson and the conditions couldn't have been more exciting. I think that this boat, and the team, has a great potential. Shame we didn't show it today. My position for this in-port race was second bowman, working together with Tom Braidwood. I am happy the way it went, our manoeuvres were good and we didn't broach once (unlike most other boats). So I am confident for the future.’

Guillermo Altadill (ESP):
‘It was a disappointing day. The first and second reach went ok and we overtook movistar and Brasil 1, but we weren't as fast upwind as we would have liked to be. We then broke a reef line and had to put another reef in which lost us a lot of ground. It was an exciting race though and great to sail the in-port race in 41 knots of wind.’