Date:30/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/30/stories/2008113060410300.htm

Kerala - Kochi

Ericsson4 in ‘stealthplay’ Ocean Race Watch

Staff Reporter

KOCHI: As the boats raced to the finish line in Kochi, the varying winds off the coast of India tested the crews in a big way.

At times, there was no wind at all, followed quickly by gusts of over 25 knots.

Ericsson4’s big lead, around 80 miles over its nearest rival Telefonica Blue, should come in very handy in these circumstances. The expected time of arrival of Ericsson4, the race leader, is not clear and with the Sweden-based team going into ‘stealthplay’, an option which allows the boat to hide its position from its competitors, the mystery has just deepened. The arrival, to the finish of the second leg in this 10,000-nautical mile, 10-leg event, could be late on Saturday or early on Sunday morning.

Russians in last place

Meanwhile, Telefonica Blue, which is running second, has taken a huge 145-mile lead over Ericsson3 while Green Dragon, Puma, Delta Lloyd (all three virtually bunched together), and Telefonica Black are moving towards Kochi in that order.

Team Russia, in the last place, has slowed down and is more than 500 miles away from the race leader.