| At Sea. Volvo Ocean Race: Ericsson in final rush to Fernando de Noronha |
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| Friday, 07 April 2006 | |
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Team Ericsson: With less than 200 miles to go to the scoring gate of Fernando de Noronha, the crews on board the six VO 70's are giving it all to try and get the precious points. Currently fourth, Ericsson is now finally sailing in steady trade wind conditions. "Life on board is pretty good", comments skipper John Kostecki. In less than 12 hours, the Volvo Ocean Race competitors will cross the track they left five months ago, as they sailed around Fernando de Noronha on their way to Cape Town, unofficially completing their loop around the world. A symbolic moment only, as there is still a lot of racing ahead: 3.600 miles for this leg to Baltimore only, followed by a trip to New York, an Atlantic crossing and a circuit through the northern European waters. Ericsson is currently sailing in fourth place, 9 miles behind third placed Pirates of the Caribbean and 7 miles ahead of Brasil 1, in fifth. The distance with the leader movistar is pretty stable, at 38 nautical miles. After a difficult start into this leg, with very light and unstable winds, the Volvo Ocean Race fleet is now finally sailing in the south-eastern trade winds. Ericsson skipper John Kostecki is delighted about this: "We are finally across the ridge which slowed our progress during the past few days. We have southeast trade wind conditions now, which means dealing with the clouds properly can provide some gains on the fleet." Ericsson will probably sail along Fernando de Noronha in the middle of the night, and navigator Steve Hayles will have to keep a good look at the boat's position: the archipelago is formed by 21 islands, with a total area of 26 km2. The main island is also called Fernando de Noronha, and is the only inhabited island. It is located slightly under the Ecuador line, 360 km from Natal and 550 km from Recife. The islands of Fernando de Noronha are the top of a volcanic mountain whose base lies 4000m (over 13000ft) below the surface. However, there is no volcanic activity in this region. The name from the archipelago comes from Fernan de Loronha, a Portuguese who received rights over it in 1504. In distinct occasions, it has been occupied by the French and the Dutch. |
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 07 April 2006 ) |
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