Blixt leads race to Sandhamn

Volvo Baltic Race fleet experience light conditions

Weather forecasts are proving correct and the Volvo Baltic Race fleet is enduring light, fluky breeze. The Croatian team sailing AV-Teknik enjoy these conditions and are right back in the game.

At 0600 hours this morning, the fleet had rounded the first turning mark at the southeastern tip of Sweden. Sony Ericsson (T Blixt/Swe), the series leader led Team Elanders (M Humphries/UK) by 13 minutes. Avant (M Lundh) passed next, 10 minutes later, followed by AV-Teknik (M Murtic/Cro) a further 10 minutes behind. The Norwegian team on JMS Next Generation were struggling almost 40 minutes behind AV-Teknik.

During the night, AV-Teknik was in shouting distance of Avant, with JMS Next Generation approximately two miles astern.

By 1250 hours the positions had changed. In the light and fluky conditions, AV-Teknik, just 13 miles east of Simrishamn on the southeastern tip of Sweden at this point, was able to put in their best performance so far in this series. Although Sony Ericsson still led the fleet, AV-Teknik had passed Avant and was neck and neck with Team Elanders, while JMS Next Generation and Avant were sailing more to the south and stuck under a rain cloud.

“This boat is good in light airs,” explained an up-beat co-skipper Anders Carlberg from Sweden. “We’re trying hard to predict what the wind is going to do. We are running a watch system of three hours on and six hours off. We are sailing a good race and we’re in the competition for the first time.”

There have been a lot of changes of wind direction, due some small thunder-clouds in area. At present the fleet has an easterly 4 knot breeze and AV-Teknik was sailing upwind at approx 4 knots.

Positions overall after leg 5 (leg 4 postponed)
1 Sony Ericsson (Thomas Blixt, Swe) 14.0 points
2 Team Elanders (Matthew Humphries, UK) 13.0 points
3 JMS Next Generation (Stefan Eneman, Swe/Kjell-Inge Heiberg, Nor) 7.5 points
4 Avant (M Lundh, Swe) 7.0 points
5 AV Teknik (Marko Murtic, Cro) 3.5 points