Green Dragon Leg Seven Day One

It was with some sadness that we left Fan Pier in Boston. What a fantastic city and I am already looking forward to returning there soon. Unfortunately that is the nature of the Volvo Ocean race. No sooner have you made new friends than you must say your farewells.

It has been an exciting week for our team as we have signed a new partnership with BWIN and United Games for us to communicate directly with those who play the Volvo Game online. I have just sent my second question to be polled by the gaming community – the first one received over 10,000 votes which is incredible. It will be fascinating to see how the gaming community's choices compare with the decisions Ian Moore and I make onboard. Let's hope we don't get it wrong too often!

We made a good start again in Boston and enjoyed the two lap course in front of the city. I only hope the fog wasn't too bad for everyone ashore to enjoy the spectacle. It was quite bizarre losing sight of everything as visibility dropped to less than 100 metres. I suspect this will be a recurring theme of the next week as moist air from the South cools over the very cold water we will be sailing through and forms dense fog. I think fog is one of the worst hazards at sea and for Ian or I.  It will mean 24 hour radar watch. Radar doesn't help much with lobster pots though so we will need a bit of Irish luck to help out there. Neal McDonald had to avoid 15 lobster pots in the first 20 minutes of his shift steering earlier today, which doesn't bode well for tonight.

Talking of Irish Luck how can I not mention our terrific send off?  The Mayor of Galway came over to send us on our way and we were treated to fantastic Irish singing and dancing. The Green Dragon is on its way home and we cannot wait to sail once again into the beautiful waters of Galway Bay.

Ian Walker - skipper