Beating Doldrums, Ericsson 4 leads

Doldrums has been the talk of the teams for the past couple of days. The teams were waiting to know what is in store for them, before they reach Kochi. The incoming reports state Ericsson 4 continues to lead. Ericsson 4, during leg one, has set a 24-hour record in gale force winds and they are doing extremely well even with the doldrums in effect. The release says, “Over the past 24 hours, Ericsson 4’s lead over teammates Ericsson 3 has increased from 5 to 57 nautical miles on the 04:00 GMT position report.” Wind speed is 6.3 knots. “While Ericsson 4 has a notable lead; Ericsson 3, Green Dragon, Delta Lloyd and Puma are tightly bunched, with just 25 miles separating the four boats,” states the media release.

With less than 692 miles to reach Kochi, the first yacth is expected to reach the shores atleast by Sunday (November 30, 2008). This is much before the scheduled arrival on December 3, 2008.