Ericsson 3 Leg 4 Day 4

So far, this race has been exciting. Everyone is talking about what is to come with the heavy winds and the big waves and forgets about the race that goes on every second out here.

It has been close racing and several crucial calls. Yesterday we were playing a nerve-wracking game when we sailed a route no one else did. Our skipper, Magnus Olsson, was biting his fingernails off and we were pretty freaked out about it. Yet, he believed in it and supported our navigator Aksel Magdahl in his decision.

This morning it paid off and we found ourselves in front of the whole pack. For a while, we could see Ericsson 4, Telefónica Blue and Puma behind us.

“This is our chance to get back the race. You don’t get many of those chances so we really have to take good care of the opportunity,” he said this morning.
But, not a day goes by without things happening.

There is a lot of lumber and seaweed in the water around here. It is certainly an advantage to have a skipper used to competing in slalom. I don’t know how many times we have been less than one metre away from hitting something big enough to break a rudder or daggerboard. During the day, you can spot and avoid the biggest things. During the night, you’re dependent on luck…

Every hour someone checks the rudders and the keel with an endoscope to see if something has stuck. So far, we have had to stop the boat three times.

Gustav Morin - MCM