It was a momentous day onboard Green Dragon as they rounded Cape Horn at 02.15am on Wednesday night, for many of the crew it was their first time round this famous landmark as they join a special group of sailors who have accomplished this feat.
Ericsson 3 took the honours crossing the scoring gate first and securing top points; this has now moved them ahead of the Dragon on the overall leader board, by just one point.
But this leg is far from over and with just under 2000 miles to go Green Dragon will be pushing hard to make up some ground on the Nordic crew, ‘they haven’t beaten us to Rio yet,’ commented skipper Ian Walker.
Cape Horn Scoring Gate
1. Ericsson 3 – 12:22 GMT: 4 points
2. Ericsson 4 – 14:48 GMT 3.5 points
3. PUMA – 20:46 GMT 3 points
4. Green Dragon - 02:15 GMT 2.5 points
It was also a special day onboard for this distinctly Irish entry as they celebrated St Patrick’s Day.
Due to some extreme weather conditions, the weather took priority over the Guinness but they were all glad to pass the Horn and turn the corner to start heading north to Rio.
‘Nobody will mind turning north as the temperature will start to rise as the weather gets better!’ reported Ian Walker from onboard.
For the fleet heading north the next obstacle on the radar will be the Falkland Islands and the route they will take.
The first three boats are likely to head, ‘between the islands and mainland South America. They are holding the westerly breeze feeding between the top of the low pressure they’ve just left behind to the south, and a small high pressure to their north,’ commented Volvo Race Expert Mark Chisnell.
The route the Dragon will take is yet to be seen, Bouwe Bekking onboard Telefonica Blue felt that Ian Walker and his crew may, ‘go wide around the Falklands, and maybe keep better breeze than the leaders. They have nothing to lose, so I expect something in that direction’
Only time will tell as the countdown to Rio begins and temperatures start to rise!
Dragon skipper Walker said: ‘It is sad not to have seen Cape Horn. Not only was it the middle of a pitch black night but we were 20 miles away at the closest point. I guess that means I’ll have to come back with my camera another time.
‘It was over 30 knots and quite big waves so we gave the Horn a very wide berth. We dropped the spinnaker for a couple of hours to ride out the worst of it. We are going to celebrate with a special bottle given to us by Wallenius Wilhelmsen at first light - I’m not sure what the bottle is yet but I hope it is strong.
‘We should be in the Straits of Le Maire at the time. It feels great to be back in the Atlantic and heading North again. Everyone on Ericsson 3 have done a fantastic job and I e-mailed Magnus to tell him as much. They haven’t beaten us to Rio yet though!’
