The Volvo Ocean Race fleet are heading towards Cape Horn, 54 degrees south, in conditions that skipper Ian Walker has described as brutal.
Walker said: ‘It’s been a fairly brutal 48 hours with winds consistently over 30 knots made up of cold air from the south. Add to this some very confused seas and it has been a perfect recipe for breaking boats, masts, sails and people.’
The Dragon has been sailing conservatively to avoid the peak winds of the low pressure.
Walker continued: ‘We have throttled back on several occasions as the slamming of the hull became intolerable.
‘This will cost us precious miles, particularly as we are first to fall off of the system, but it is a decision I am happy with.
‘Deep in the Southern Ocean 1,000 miles from anywhere is not the place for hoisting the ‘hero’ flag.
‘Boat and crew remain in good shape and now that the wind is under 30 and the seas have flattened off we are able to hoist the spinnaker and push on again.
‘It feels like this leg is nearly over but we still have 3,000 miles to go and we need a boat in full working order.’
Life onboard has improved in the last 12 hours with the conditions but the crew are looking forward to getting to Rio. Ian Walker described the situation onboard: ‘Most clothes are wet, sleeping bags are damp, the boat is full of condensation so there is little reprieve down below.
‘There is little comfort in what food we have and e-mails from home or news from the outside world are the only things to break the monotony.
‘There is noticeably less chat amongst the guys as everyone is in survival mode just personally trying to get through the next few days.
‘It looks like the elements are saving one last strong throw of the dice in the shape of more gale force winds which will hit us just before the Horn.’
Leg Five Day 31: 1600 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to finish)
Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) DTF 2,571 nm
Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +48
PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +187
Green Dragon IRL/CHI (Ian Walker/GBR) +270
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +814
Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) DNS
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) DNS
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS
