Keeping the hammer down at 500miles a day

by Lizzie Green on 11 Apr 2006 Speeds are up and 24 hour runs are nearing the 500 mile mark as the Volvo Ocean Race fleet thunders towards the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay, where the sailing is expected to become tricky. Keeping the hammer down and making the most of the fast reaching conditions is the strategy at present, something that the ABN AMRO ONE (Mike Sanderson) crew is very good at. They have extended their lead over second placed movistar (Bouwe Bekking) to 45 miles and are sailing almost two knots faster.

Brasil 1 (Torben Grael) and The Black Pearl (Pirates of the Caribbean/Paul Cayard) are still squabbling over who shall have third place. Brasil 1 still has the upper hand with a buffer of nine miles on the Pirates, but both boats are very similar in performance, and they have been engaged in battle for most of today.

'It’s quite a funny thing, to come out here in the wild oceans and be right next to a boat for days on end,' explained Pirate Juggy Clougher in a radio interview today. 'It adds a lot of work to your day because you are forever looking at them. You gain an inch you feel good, you lose an inch and you feel bad and you have to cope with the highs and lows every day, but it adds dimension and colour too. It makes you try harder and we are really ripping along and the sailing’s been fantastic.'

Ericsson (John Kostecki) is now out of the immediate battle for third place as she is 13 miles behind the Pirates, but her speed is the second highest in the fleet, enabling her to attack once again during the night.

The fastest boat in the fleet is the white Dutch boat, ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien Josse) who is languishing in last place 169 nautical miles behind the leader. This young crew has been hoping desperately that their luck will change and that they will, once again, be in the heat of the battle. Perhaps the time has come.

LEG FIVE DAY 9, 10.04.06, 2200 GMT POSITION REPORT

	YACHT	Latitude	Longitude	DTF	SMG	24 Hour Run	24 Hour Speed	DTL	DTLC	SGPTS	PLPTS	PTLPTS	ETA	POP	PROJECTED POSITION OVERALL
1	ABN1	08 01.60N	047 32.55W	02454	18.2	469	19.6	00000	+00000	3	7.0	10.0	18/04/06	62.5	1
2	MOVI	07 42.85N	046 43.16W	02499	16.9	438	18.2	00045	-00007	3.5	6.0	9.5	18/04/06	40.5	2
3	BRA1	07 04.19N	046 36.00W	02534	16.8	452	18.8	00080	-00007	1.5	5.0	6.5	18/04/06	35.0	5
4	POTC	06 53.76N	046 34.77W	02543	17.1	447	18.6	00089	-00005	2.5	4.0	6.5	18/04/06	38.0	4
5	ERIC	06 27.79N	046 46.73W	02557	18.6	464	19.3	00103	-00003	2	3.0	5.0	18/04/06	28.5	6
6	ABN2	06 02.83N	045 29.43W	02623	18.8	452	18.8	00169	-00002	1	2.0	3.0	18/04/06	39.5	3