Final in port tomorrow

Second place between Puma and Telefonica could be decided off Stockhom tomorrow

The Volvo Ocean Race fleet will take to the waters off Stockholm on Sunday afternoon for the seventh and final in-port race day of the event, and like many of the others, the forecast is for light winds.

Two races will be held in the Kanholmsfjärden about 25 miles from the race village in Stockholm. That will make for an early start for the sailors; the fleet will leave the dock in Stockholm by 07:30 local time to get to the race area in time. Racing is scheduled to start at 13:00 local time (11:00 GMT), with two races on the cards. Thousands of spectators are expected to watch the fleet strut their stuff round the short 2.7 mile course just outside the Stockholm archipelago.

While Ericsson 4 has mathematically locked up the overall race title, the battle for second place is still alive. Puma has built a seven-point margin over Telefónica Blue, but, with 12 points still available between now and the race finish in St. Petersburg, the battle is still alive.

Telefónica Blue has the best record of all the teams in the in-port race series, including wins in Rio de Janeiro and Boston, along with second place in Galway. But the winner in Ireland was Puma. So, with the leaderboard the way it is, Telefónica Blue skipper Bouwe Bekking is expecting some special attention from Puma.

"We will see. They will probably try and sail us to the back of the fleet, but they are so comfortable (with the seven-point lead)," he said. "We are just trying to win and see where we end up. If they want to make it a match race, it is still very tricky with other boats around."

The forecast is for light winds in the morning, with a sea breeze forecast to build near 10 knots by race time. Bekking says anything between five and 15 knots is possible on the day.

Puma could seal second place tomorrow, with one leg of the race to go. Read's team need to either beat or finish one position behind Telefonica Blue to achieve this. Otherwise the result will be decided by the result of the final leg from Stockholm to St Petersburg, Russia, which begins on Thursday 25 June.

Puma skipper Ken Read commented: “At this point in the race, we have two shots at controlling our destiny; tomorrow’s In Port race and the final leg to Russia. We’re aiming to do that tomorrow. However, the forecast looks like another pretty light wind, weird day, the type of weather in which Telefonica Blue excels.

“We said from day one that our aim in this race was to finish on the podium. We cannot finish any worse than third, so whatever happens we have succeeded. No matter what, we will always be able to look back at this Volvo Ocean Race and know it has been a success. Do I, and the entire team want to finish this race in second place? Of course. It would be a huge bonus. We have a battle on our hands, this is not over until it’s over. We have continued to improve in light air conditions and we know we can do it. We are as ready as we’ll ever be.”

It will be a special race day for the two Ericsson boats as well, sailing in home waters. Ericsson 4 is sailing with the same 11 core crewmembers it has used for every leg and in-port race to this point. And, for Ericsson 3's Nordic crew, the opportunity to sail in front of a home crowd is sure to be inspiring.

The teams have announced their crew lists (see below). Perhaps most dramatic are those on Green Dragon who for the In Port are bringing on Swedish America’s Cup sailor Henrik Norberg and as navigator former Belgacom ORMA skipper Jean-Luc Nélias, in addition to Green Dragon shore team regulars Johnny Mordaunt and James Carroll. Navigator Ian Moore has returned to the UK to be with his wife ahead the impending birth of their second child. “This was my final leg aboard the Dragon as my wife is due to have a baby during Leg 10, so I will be hanging up my boots for a few months. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported us over the last 9 months and to the Green Dragon team, it has been a pleasure sailing with you all and I wish them every success in the final In Port and last leg of the race," said Moore.

Ian Walker commented: “Tomorrow is still a race and we still want to do well in it. Ian Moore has left to go home for family duties! So we have Jean Luc joining us onboard, who is a very experienced offshore and inshore navigator, and I’m looking forward to sailing with him. I think he will bring something fresh and different onboard and I’m hoping he can bring something new to the team for the last push to Russia.”

Overall Leaderboard
Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA): 108 points
Puma (Ken Read/USA): 95.0 points
Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED): 88.0 points
Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE): 71.5 points
Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR): 63.0 points
Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri/ESP): 47.0
Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermudez/ESP): 38.0 points
Team Russia (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT): 10.5 points

Crew lists:

DELTA LLOYD
1. Roberto Bermúdez De Castro/ESP – skipper
2. Wouter Verbraak/NED – navigator
3. Sander Pluijm/NED – MCM
4. Stuart Wilson/NZL – mainsheet
5. Nick Bice/AUS – pit
6. Andre Fonseca/BRA – tactician
7. Ben Costello/NZL – trimmer
8. Ed Van Lierde/NED – grinder
9. David Pella/ESP – pitman
10. Gerd-Jan Poortman/NED – bowman
11. Morgan White/AUS – mid bow
12. Marcelo Ferreira/BRA – trimmer
13. Dave Miller/NZL - grinder

ERICSSON 4
1. Torben Grael/BRA - skipper
2. Jules Salter/GBR - navigator
3. Guy Salter/GBR - MCM
4. Brad Jackson/NZL – mainsheet
5. Stu Bannatyne/NZL – tactician
6. Dave Endean/NZL - pitman
7. Horacio Carabelli/BRA - trimmer
8. Tony Mutter/NZL - trimmer
9. Joao Signorini/BRA - trimmer
10. Ryan Godfrey/AUS - bowman
11. Phil Jameson/NZL – bowman
12. Brian McInnes/CAN – grinder
13. Joe Spooner/NZL - grinder

ERICSSON 3
1. Magnus Olsson/SWE – skipper
2. Aksel Magdahl/NOR - navigator
3. Gustav Morin/SWE MCM
4. Arve Roaas/NOR – mainsheet
5. Richard Mason/NZL - mainsheet
6. Thomas Johanson/FIN - helm
7. Eivind Melleby/NOR - trimmer
8. Martin Strömberg/SWE – trimmer
9. Jens Dolmer/DEN - pitman
10. Anders Dahlsjö/SWE - mastman
11. Martin Krite/SWE - bowman
12. Jann Neergaard/DEN – grinder
13. Rasmus Koster/DEN - tactics

GREEN DRAGON
1. Ian Walker/GBR – skipper/tactician
2. Neal McDonald/GBR – mainsheet
3. Guo Chuan/CHN - MCM
4. Damian Foxall/IRL – strategy
5. Jean-Luc Nelias/FRA - navigator
6. Anthony Merrington/AUS – trimmer
7. Phil Harmer/AUS – trimmer
8. Andrew Mclean/NZL – pitman
9. James Carroll/IRL – pit assistant
10. Justin Slattery/IRL – bow
11. Freddy Shanks/GBR – mid bow
12. Henrik Norberg/SWE
13. Johnny Mordaunt/IRL – grinder

PUMA OCEAN RACING
1. Ken Read/USA - skipper
2. Andrew Cape/AUS - navigator
3. Rick Deppe/GBR MCM
4. Craig Satterthwaite/NZL – trimmer
5. Robert Greenhalgh/GBR – tactician
6. Rob Salthouse/NZL – pit
7. Justin Ferris/NZL – trimmer
8. Shannon Falcone/ANT – trimmer/pit
9. Casey Smith/AUS – bowman
10. Erle Williams/NZL – mainsheet trimmer
11. Jerry Kirby/USA – mid bow
12. Andrew Taylor/NZL - grinder
13. Michael O’Mullahan/IRE - grinder

TELEFÓNICA BLUE
1. Iker Martinez/ESP - skipper
2. Bouwe Bekking/NED – tactician
3. Simon Fisher/GBR- navigator
4. Gabriele Olivo/ITA - MCM
5. Jonathan Swain/RSA – trim
6. Jordi Calafat /ESP – mainsheet
7. Xabier Fernandez/ESP - trimmer
8. Pablo Arrarte/ESP Spanish - trimmer
9. Laurent Pages/FRA – trimmer
10. Daryl Wislang/NZL - bowman
11. Pepe Ribes/ESP – bowman
12. Federico Giovanelli/ITA – grinder
13. Carlo Castellano/ITA – grinder

TELEFÓNICA BLACK
1. Fernando Echávarri/ESP – skipper
2. Luis Doreste/ESP – Tactician
3. Roger Nilson – MCM
4. Antonio (Ñeti) Cuervas-Mons/ESP – trimmer
5. Gonzalo Araujo/ESP – watch captain
6. Jaime Arbones/ESP – watch captain
7. Pablo Iglesias/ESP – trimmer
8. Javier de la Plaza/ESP – trimmer
9. David Vera/ESP - bow
10. Michael Pammenter/RSA - bow
11. Maciel Cicchetti/ARG – trimmer
12. Iñigo Losada/ESP – grinder
13. Pedro Campos/ESP – helmsman