On Sunday 19 February, the six Volvo Open 70s will embark on a 6,700nm trek across the Southern Oceans to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Historically the longest and most grueling leg of the race, leg four could throw anything at the sailors from icebergs to furious gales, huge waves and extreme cold. The pressure is on the Ericsson Racing Team which is currently sixth on the leaderboard.

Following the strategic decision to suspend racing two days ago, the Ericsson Racing Team officially crossed the finish line in Wellington today, Saturday 18 February, at 02:57 am GMT, signaling the conclusion of leg three. Less than 24 hours later they will depart for the next leg of this marathon race; a brutal ride south towards the infamous Cape Horn and then on to Rio. The pressure’s on the Ericsson boys, who need to get a good result in order to climb their way back up the leaderboard. Ericsson is currently in sixth place, 1.5 points behind Brasil 1 and 3 points behind Pirates of the Caribbean.

The start gun will fire at 14.30 local time (01.30 GMT) in Lambton Harbour - the bay located in front of Wellington - from a line extending northwards from the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club.

“This is going to be an interesting leg, and it is obviously an important one for us,” commented skipper Neal McDonald. “Our shore crew has been working flat out during the stopover in Melbourne, and again here in Wellington. They have done a fantastic job and thanks to them we will start this difficult leg with a boat in great shape.” McDonald continued: “Ericsson and all of our partners and our families must also be thanked for their moral support. They have understood well that we are involved in a mechanical sport, and that we use innovative technology that is being improved all the time. The crew is in very good spirits despite our current ranking and a big part of that comes down to the support that we have had.”

Unlike in previous Whitbread/Volvo Ocean Races, where the boats were allowed to dive as far south as they wanted, two ice-gates have been added for safety reasons at the latitude of 48 degrees south.

“The first hours of racing will be interesting,” commented navigator Steve Hayles. “In the past, we were starting from Auckland and diving south immediately. Leaving from Wellington is different, particularly because of the ice gates. We could see the boats adopt very different routes.”

The weather forecast for the start is fairly light northerly winds in Wellington harbour and Cook Strait. The spectacular sailing will soon happen, as the boats reach the strong westerly gales.

“During this leg, we will sail in almost all the conditions one can imagine, from deep Southern Ocean racing to tropical weather once we reach Brazil,” comments Hayles. “All the focus is on the first part of the leg. But in my experience, the second part - after Cape Horn - is the most challenging one. It is often where the race gets lost or won. For example, we can sail east or west of the Falkland Islands and this is one of the most important decisions on the whole leg.”

3.5 points will be up for grabs at the Cape Horn scoring gate, so the teams will be keen to reach this landmark as quickly as possible in order to win this “race in the race”. The boats are due to arrive into Rio de Janeiro any day from 6 March after approximately three weeks at sea. At this point they will be three-quarters of the way round the world, although less than half the points will have been allocated.

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