Have you seen?
How Galway Docks
Were supposed to look

Click on the link below
for a virtual tour:

It's all over ... and these were the final placings:

1. Ericsson 4
2. PUMA Ocean Racing
3. Telefonica Blue
4. Ericsson 3
5. Green Dragon
6. Telefonica Black
7. Delta Lloyd
8. Team Russia

Thursay 18th June- 14:00 hrs BST
All but Tele Blue are now in Stockholm, Puma wins her first leg and now has 2nd Overall ... for now.
When Tele Blue get to Stockholm there will be 7 points between them and Puma ... 2nd Overall still up for grabs.
E4 on the other hand have enough of a points lead that they now can not be beaten and will be the Overall winners of the 08-09 Race.

Next in the In-Port race in Stockholm this Sunday midday our time.
Live video covergae via the Dot TV link or follow the fleet on the Trac Trac above.

Then they all leave on Thursday and race to the finish ... eta Petersburg Sat 27th.

Thursay 28th May- 15:00 hrs BST
The yachts arrived in Galway last Sunday morning. I was there in a RIB to watch them come in, it was exciting.

My brother and I are acting as Race Marshalls for the In-Port Race this Saturday ... should be exciting too.

Friday 15th May- 09:00 hrs BST
You may have noticed I haven't been commenting for the last 2 months. Suffice it to say the yachts continued to Boston.
They leave Boston tomorrow at 6pm Irish Time ... their next stop is Galway.

Thurs 25th March- 13:00 hrs GMT
The first yacht has crossed the finish line in Rio, Brazil. Ericsson 3 takes line honours at about 10.30 this morning.

Thurs 12th Feb- 20:00 hrs GMT
The Dragon got a good 2nd in the first In-Port race ... and a 4th in the second In-Port race ... giving them a 4th Overall of the day.
That keeps them in 4th Overall in the Round the World Race.
Next start line in China is this Saturday ... we have four boats ready to race ... and E3 has made her repairs and left Taiwan.
E3 has under 400 miles to go to the finish/start. A very quick turn around and away they go again.
5 yachts to race next leg. Other 3 hoping to rejoin in Rio, Brazil.

Sun 1st Feb- 16:00 hrs GMT
The Green Dragon finished 4th on Saturday.
Tele Black is making it's way to Singapore for further repairs, having retired from this leg, but do expect to make the satrt of leg 5.
Delta Lloyd have unofficially announced that they are going to retire from racing until Rio and hope to catch a ship there soon to finish their repairs. Ericsson 3 are still trying to finish this leg, if they can get their repairs finished in time.

Thurs 29th Jan- 10:30 hrs GMT
The first three yachts have finished, the podium is filled.
TeleBlue crossed the line first at 7am. Then Puma took second at 8:17am. Ericsson 4 got third at 9:04am.
Our Green Dragon is going nicely, looking at a fourth place, some 343 mile out. Expect them in sometime tomorrow.
TeleBlack has retired from this leg but we are still waiting to hear from E3 and Delta Lloyd, who have both suspended racing while they make repairs, both still in the same port at the northern tip of Taiwan ... they may still decide to resume if they can get enough repairs done, or retire ... we'll have to wait and see.

Wed 28th Jan- 22:30 hrs GMT
Same story today ... 4 yachts left in the race. Tele Blue still has the lead but the gap is closing behind them as both Puma and E4 catch up. Green Dragon still going. Puma and E4 have been swapping positions with each other, Puma has 2nd place at the moment but that could change too. Puma is just 17 miles behind TeleBlue and Puma has a 6 mile advantage on E4 tonight. The Dragon is 320 miles further back. Tele Blue has 97 miles to the finish line, can they hold the lead? Any body's guess. My mony is on Puma at the moment, they are still closing the gap, even without a boom. Tomorrow morning/noon should have them finished.

And here's a short video showing how they swap lead while E4 briefly gets caught in a net.

Tue 27th Jan- 21:00 hrs GMT
Another hard day in the office for the Volvo Race yachts.
Since yesterday E3 has had to pull out and head back to Taiwan, with a 4 metre crack in the bow/hull.
This evening Delta Lloyd has also turned in for the same port in Taiwan, with a broken bulkhead in the bow and taking water through it ... they have sealed off the compartment for now.

That leaves TeleBlue in the lead, E4 just 27 miles from the lead, Puma just 3 miles further back (30 miles from lead), without a boom putting serious pressure on E4 and Green Dragon labouring on 289 miles from the leader, but still going.
Four yachts racing tonight.
E3 have "Suspended Racing" (may get back in but have to lift the yacht out tomorrow to assess).
Delta Lloyd may have the same story tomorrow.

Mon 26th Jan- 02:00 hrs GMT
This extract is just in, by email, from Green Dragon:
" At 0945 GMT today after nearly 24 hours at anchor we resumed racing. It took about 12 hours for the boatbuilding crew to fix up the broken forward bulkhead as best they could and about 10 hours for the sailmaking crew to put back together our mainsail, J4 and J5. Some people managed to put in a performance for both projects and after an awesome effort we managed to leave our anchorage before nightfall. Unfortunately the beautiful locals in canoes offering us chilled beer in my dreams never arrived but we did end up being greeted by a customs man. He was most put out that we hadn't reported to him but a bag of chocolate bars and one of my team shirts seemed to pacify him. Guillermo from Delta Lloyd must have had similar thoughts to me as he went ashore by canoe and came back an hour later with a crate of San Miguel beer for his crew. Since leaving harbour things have not gone so well for us. We proceeded very carefully into a wicked headsea and it wasn't long before Neal and I heard 2 dreaded cracks. We were inspecting the bow repair at the time and while the repair held firm the bulkhead let go either side of it. Since then I have been agonising over how best to proceed. Do we go to Hong Kong, Xiamen or even Shanghai to make repairs? Do we go back to Subic Bay? Is it safe to cross the Straits in the current weather? Should we soldier on slowly and nurse the boat to Qingdao - maybe even get there without retiring and using the engine? Right now we are doing just that but more damage could rapidly change things. We are currently sailing in 37 knots with storm jib and trysail (it is very hard to nurse your boat in 30+ knots!). If we get through the next 12 hours intact conditions should very much improve for a couple of days before another 'cold push' (gales from the North) will pass over us - this will be hard for us to deal with as it will be bang on the nose. As always my crew have beeen fantastic. To a man everyone is fully focused on getting the Green Dragon to Qingdao. There is nothing we want more right now than to sail into Qingdao however long it takes us. We have no more repair materials onboard so we must prevent any further damage in order to do this." Ian Walker (Skipper).

Mon 26th Jan- 01:30 hrs GMT
The 1am position reports are in ... they are the same ... and still show our Green Dragon making way, in the right direction.
Tele Blue, E3, E4, Puma, Delta, Dragon.

I think todays events will spark many discusions about this "Round the World Yacht Race".
It is known as the "Everest of Sailing" ... "Life at the Extreme" ... etc., etc., etc.
Questions like: Was Telefonica Blue extremely lucky to make it, or are they proper Ocean Sailors who know how to keep a yacht togethar? Are these yachts too fast now and unable to deal with real weather? Should the VOR poeple have made a safety call? And many more...

Telefonica Blue - Bouwe Bekking (Skipper) said it all in an email yesterday:
"Iwas really angry when some of the competitors suggested to cancel racing, so didn't get involved with the ridiculous correspondence regarding scoring, this would be a jury issue anyway. If the organisation had given in, all the slogans about how tough this race is, could have been thrown out of the window. And worse it would have been the kiss of death for the future of the race. We always knew this was going to be a horrible leg."

Sun 25th Jan- 23:30 hrs GMT
Here's a little bit of viewing for you:
Ericsson 3's navigator tell us his thoughts of the conditions. "Boat Breaking Conditions".
And here's where "Puma Breaks Boom".
Here's what Tele Black calls "Storm Conditions".

And here's an extract from my own journals from 2000. This was on "Maiden", an Open 60, a Volvo Ocean Race yacht from the days when it was called the Whitbread Round the World race.
Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th November 2000
First light, actually before it, we departed Cameret, France and headed off to cross the "Bay of Biscay", a stretch of water feared by many sailors. Crossing the Biscay, in a straight line (shortest route) from northwest France to northwest Spain, is a 360 mile passage, with nowhere to stop for a rest. Once you decide to go, you are committed to it. We hoped to make it across before a "Depression", which was building up in the area, got too severe. Once again we left in force 7/8, and the next day it increased to force 9 and then reaching "Storm 10". This meant for some very exciting sailing, the type I had never done before. Huge seas, storm force winds reaching 55 knots, and all of this in the dark of night with pretty much zero visibility due to water crashing everywhere. Now I can understand why the Biscay is feared by many, but "Maiden" took it all in her stride. I may have knocked her before, mainly due to lack of maintenance on her owners behalf, but she can sail extremely well in extreme conditions as well as calm conditions.
Sunday 5th November 2000
We sailed into La Coruna, Spain, in a force 9 in the dark at about 2000nrs. We were all looking forward to going ashore to shower, and wine and dine well as we had arrived at a respectable hour. This didn't happen, we had to tie up on a mooring buoy until next morning.

The rest of the story is better told at the bar counter, with a pint in hand ... and there is a lot more to tell !!!

These are the only photos I could find in a hurry ... no major weather.

This is herself in Wales about to be prepped for passage to Canaries.

This is a bit of me, with a view from the helm over the "Snake Pit".

And allmost the full crew (missing the photographer) with me bottom right.

Sun 25th Jan- 22:30 hrs GMT
The week has been interesting ... it started with a procession, then later a gentle spread of the fleet .. then the first gambles came with a wind shift, those going north made good, but leader at the time E4 went south and came out last.
Then all yachts sailed up the coast of one of the Philapine Islands (Manila ???) while expecting bad weather.
The weather came, Tele Blue was the first to leave the shelter of the island, then went Tele Black.
The two Erricson yachts stayed at the northern tip and watched the Tele yachts go for it. The rest made a stab at it in some form or other and all came back with damage. The Green Dragon and Delta Lloyd were both anchored up in the same bay making their repairs, in view of each other.
Tele Blue kept on going and made it through the starits in one piece. The Erricson twins followed, when the worst had past, and still are in hot pursuit.
Our Green Dragon made a second go at it, but ended up breaking their new repairs ... now they are nursing the yacht across the straits. With Delta Lloyd just in front of them.
At this time Puma is half way across the straits.
Tele Black has retired from this leg due to hull damage sustained in her attemp to cross in the bad weather.

At one stage the teams were emailing each other suggesting they all postpone the race until the storm had past ... that didn't carry though and Tele Blue are delighted ... they get to keep their lead.

Leaderboard tonight: TeleBlue, E3, E4, Puma, Delta Lloyd and our Dragon. TeleBlack officially retired from this leg.

Sun 18th Jan- 22:30 hrs GMT
The yachts are all lined up like a row of ducklings following the parents. Puma and E4 are neck and neck, side by side.
Then there is a one mile gap between each of the yachts following ... TeleBlue one mile behind, E3 one mile further, TeleBlack another mile, then Delta Loyd one more mile gap and Green Dragon holding one mile behind them. That's still just 5 miles from first to last. We'll see how that all pans out overnight.

Sun 18th Jan- 18:30 hrs GMT
The fleet have got underway again, crossing the start line this morning at 5am GMT.
They are bunched up with only 5 miles separating them from first to last, with Puma leading E4 by one mile.

Tue 13th Jan- 16:00 hrs GMT
They have now edited both races and got some better aerial shots and shots from the other boats.
Each of these video clips are less than 10 minutes ... just the highlights.

...

Sat 10th Jan- 21:00 hrs GMT
I was up this morning to see the live coverage ... it was terrible ... the GSM mobile phone network, in Singapore, couldn't handle the ammount of info being sent.
I've just watched the replay video of the live coverage (below) of the first in-port race ... it's 1hr25mins long.
They only have a few cameras transmitting from the rear of some of the yachts, even the commentators couldn't talk to each other on the phones ... and only a few aerial shots of the fleet ... but the audio commentry is ok, if you want to watch it ... please don't blame your internet connection for this one.
I haven't watched the replay video of the live coverage of the 2nd race yet ... so no comments on how bad that is ... yet.

Sat 10th Jan- 17:30 hrs GMT
The in-port races in Singapore are over .. Erricson 4 get the honours with a 1st and a 2nd ... Green Dragon got a 4th and a 5th ... giving them points for 5th after the two races ... below are the videos of both races ... just over half an hour each. Watch and enjoy:

...

Overall winner for the UBS Challenge for the Singapore In-Port Race:
1st - Ericsson 4
2nd - PUMA
3rd - Telefonica Blue
4th - Telefonica Black
5th - Green Dragon
6th - Ericsson 3
7th - Delta Lloyd

1st Race
1st - PUMA
2nd - Ericsson 4
3rd - Telefonica Blue
4th - Green Dragon
5th - Ericsson 3
6th - Telefonica Black
7th - Delta Lloyd

2nd Race
1st - Ericsson 4
2nd - Telefonica Black
3rd - Telefonica Blue
4th - PUMA
5th - Green Dragon
6th - Ericsson 3
7th - Delta Lloyd
(Provisional Results)

Thurs 8th Jan- 19:30 hrs GMT
The protests have been heard:
Firstly TeleBlue withdrew their protest againt E3.
The Jury ruled that E3 did cross the line into the exclision zone and took one point off their overall score.
The Jury ruled that E4 shuold have declared that they changed thier bow, but as it was like-for-like, no penelty.

In Port racing starts Saturday 10th at 13:00 hrs local time (that's 5am here, I think).

Mon 5th Jan- 15:30 hrs GMT
The "Silly Season" is over (tis the season to be silly???) .. the yachts are preping for the in-port racing this weekend coming.

The Russian tean didn't secure funding yet and have suspended racing for the next two legs. The are currently on their way to Rio in Brazil where, if they get funds, they will rejoin the race.

Erricson 3 have two protests against them which will be heard on Thursday morning in Singapore.
The first is a classic Starboard/Port (opposing tacks) which TeleBlue have on video.
The second is from the committee regarding E3 not rounding a mark off Sri Lanka.

Erricson4 also have a protest pending ... about a replacement sacrificial bow.

Standby ... I may be back soon with more news.

Tue 23rd Dec - 15:00 hrs GMT
The positions are: TeleBlue, Puma, E3, E4, TeleBlack, Green dragon, Russia.
Delta Lloyd are expected to cross the line about 6pm this evening.

Team Russia has announced that they have suspended racing due to lack of funds.

Mon 22nd Dec - 16:55 hrs GMT
The placings across the line so far are official but there may be a protest to be heard ... as seen in the video clip at the 15:30 report.
The first four yachts were: TeleBlue, Puma, E3 and E4.
The 4pm position report showed TeleBlack some 15 miles out and doing 13.8 knots ... so they should be in soon.
The same 4pm position report showed Dragon 65 miles out with Russia just 8 miles behind them ... a gain of 2 miles this afternoon for the Dragon. Still up for grabs, a close battle.

The next 3 minute video clip shows the top four yachts playing it all, in very light wind, while looking at each other.
It also shows Puma anchored, a method employed by ourselves on Hallmark in the Kilrush October Series just gone by.
When the wind is so light, with boat speed through the water being so slow, and the current against you stronger, one can drop anchor just to stop going backwards while waiting for the wind to pick up again.

Mon 22nd Dec - 15:30 hrs GMT
Leg 3 comes to an end ... TeleBlue crossed the finish line at 14:51 ... we're just waiting for the reports to come in to see who's next ... Puma, E3 and E4 are neck and neck, literally ... in the darkness two of them almost collided, one having to call starboard on another ... watch this short video clip:

And just in, at 15:35 hrs : It looks like Puma got 2nd place, with E3 taking 3rd, putting E4 in 4th place. Will confirm later.

Sun 21st Dec - 19:30 hrs GMT
Exciting times for the top four yachts, all looking at each other. 1st is TeleBlue, 2nd and only one mile behind them is E3, then just another mile behind is Puma, and two more mile back is E4, TeleBlack is only 10 mile from leader, Dragon is 45 miles from leader (a nice gain of some sixty miles since yesterday), Russia are just 20 miles behind Dragon and Delta are still limping home.

Sat 20th Dec - 22:30 hrs GMT
E4 have the lead by 21 miles, tied for 2nd are TeleBlue and Puma, another 4 mile behind is E3, and 30 miles further back is TeleBlack but at the 10pm report they are by far the fastest of the fleet, Dragon got caught by no wind for a while and dropped back to some 102 miles from the leader in 6th place, followed by Russia and Delta Lloyd.

Fri 19th Dec - 22:30 hrs GMT
OK, a very brief overview ... Russia did make up some miles but not enough. They are about to go through the scoring gate in 7th with Delta limping behind with a broken canting mechanism on their keel. The rest crossed the line earlier like this ... 1st E4, 2nd TeleBlue, 3rd E3, next Puma, TeleBlack and our Dragon just 38 miles from the leader ... but it's still all to play for ... light airs ahead, a lucky squall could change everything for anyone.

Thurs 18th Dec - 23:30 hrs GMT
I've been outta town the last couple of days, but have been watching ... everything is still up and down but pretty much the same leaderboard ... our Dragon 5th at the moment, 34 miles behind the leaders, TeleBlue and E4, tied for 1st ... but hey, I reckon the one to watch is Russia, 7th place, 86 miles from the leaders ... but watch them for the next 24 hrs ... If I was the leader I would be watching them, they are the fastest yacht this evening and are pointing straight at the gate ... all the rest will have to tack away to get north enough to make the gate, therefore losing ground to Russia.

Tue 16th Dec - 16:30 hrs GMT
The last two days have been hard to follow, as the leaderboard has been constantly changing with every report.
The fleet are heading east now, towards the scoring gate, having cleared south of Sri Lanka.
There is another area of light wind approaching the fleet, the next 24hrs will be interesting. Dragon is in 2nd place at the moment, 20miles behind TeleBlue. E4 just one mile behind Dragon, but further to the north, this could give E4 gains in the next 24hrs. Watch closely. Then it should be a drag race, first out will probably make the gate first. We'll see.

Sun 14th Dec - 16:30 hrs GMT
The fleet are now approaching the southern tip of Sri Lanka, TeleBlue and E4 leading the pack followed by Dragon and Puma both just 4 miles from the leader. Then we have TeleBlack, E3, Russia and Delta.

Here's a nice short video clip of the fleet making their way from the docks in Cochin to the start line, yesterday.

Sat 13th Dec - 23:00 hrs GMT
Well, the 10pm position report is in ... Our Dragon is still leading the Distance to Finish, closely followed by TeleBlack, but Black are clocking faster speeds at the moment ... everyone else is in pack formation, including Russia who are presently tied 3rd with E4 ... tomorrow morning will, I'm sure, tell a clearer story. Stay tuned!!!

Sat 13th Dec - 20:00 hrs GMT
Interestingly enough, our Dragon has taken the lead by hugging the beach ... it may be short lived, but the 7pm position report shows it so. Even the Russians have gone more offshore now, following the rest of the fleet, we'll have to wait longer to see how it all pans out.

Sat 13th Dec - 17:00 hrs GMT
The start was this morning at 10am ... but I couldn't find any of the usual commentries.
The fleet are all in light airs, making slow progress ... Puma are in the lead followed by E4, then TeleBlack, Russia, TeleBlue, E3, Delta and Dragon. But there is only a few mile from first to last ... anybodies game.
Our Dragon and Russia have taken a route closer to the beach, this was a winning move coming in to Cohin for some, they are both suffering because of it at the moment. The wind is due to build from the east, it'll be interesting to see if this move pays off for them.
The leaderboard should take good shape once they round the southern tip on India.
This leg is the guts of 2,000 miles ... doable in 4 days if they had wind, but it could take up to two weeks with the forcast we have now. We'll see how it all goes.

I have the Google Earth link now up and running ... but I'm not sure Google are up to speed yet, maybe after the next position report after 7pm.

Fri 12th Dec - 18:00 hrs GMT
Right, I have now put all my comments and links from Leg 2 on a separate page ... I've archived it ... you can find it on the left hand column.

Fri 12th Dec - 18:00 hrs GMT
OK folks ... the VOR is back on ... the boys have all had time to make repairs and rest.
10am tomorrow, Saturday, sees the start line in Cochin, India ... destination Singapore.
I may be back here later on tonight to give you the high-lights on the lead up to tomorrow.