The five yachts competing on the fourth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race are moving quickly after a tumultuous start over the weekend. Sailors on Ericsson 4 had only a few hours to prepare their vessel for the new leg after arriving in Qingdao at the end of the pack. Telefonica Blue ran aground shortly after starting and returned to haul the boat and check for damage, restarting the race shortly thereafter.
From the ISAF’s sailing.org:
The fleet is now being catapulted towards the southern tip of Japan at breakneck speed. Ken READ (USA) onboard PUMA reported a steady boat speed of 30 knots earlier this morning in 27 knots of wind. For Telefónica Blue, the start was anything but slow, which was tough on the crew and Xabier FERNANDEZ from Spain was seasick. In the first hour of racing, the crew made four sail changes and saw their first snowflakes.
