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Grael claims leg-one victory

SAILING REPORT:  IT MUST have seemed like Groundhog Day for Torben Grael yesterday though one with a crucial difference

Mon Nov 03 2008 - 00:00

SAILING REPORT:  IT MUST have seemed like Groundhog Day for Torben Grael yesterday though one with a crucial difference. Almost three years ago, he was at the helm of Brasil 1 and easing towards the finishing line of the Volvo Ocean Race at Cape Town in almost complete calm as the sun rose over Table Mountain, writes David Brannigan

That was in third place, his ultimate finishing position by the end of the 32,000-mile course, six months later. Yesterday morning saw the Brazilian multiple Olympic medallist bring Ericsson 4 across the line shortly after dawn, in a near calm but this time in first place.

Race lore predicts that the winner of leg one nearly always emerges overall winner.

But that's still almost eight months away and within 10 hours of Grael and his crew spraying the champagne around the VA Waterfront, American Ken Read brought Puma Ocean Racing in to the "Tavern of the Seas" in second place following an intense three-week battle between the two boats.

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That still leaves one podium place for this leg up for grabs but with less than 140-miles to the finishing line, that finishing place seemed certain to be taken by Ericsson 3 and the Scandinavian crew led by Anders Lewander.

Chasing behind but at 10 per cent less boat-speed was Ian Walker and the team on Green Dragon suffering from keel damage. Though fourth on the water, providing this doesn't slip to Spain's Telefonica Blue, the Irish-Chinese backed team seem certain to be awarded third place.

That outcome would arise because the second Ericsson boat is racing with an illegal keel and will be penalised one place until they replace the foil with a legal version during this stop-over.

Further back, Ger O'Rourke on Team Delta Lloyd was sailing hard to hold seventh place and an 80-mile lead over Spain's Telefonica Black that is also limping towards the finish due to gear damage. The Limerick skipper is unlikely to make up the time to sixth-place Team Russia some 110 miles ahead, possibly due to mast damage incurred during last week's storming crossing of the South Atlantic ocean.