Ericsson take a battering

Anders Lewander, skipper of Ericsson 3, reported that they had engaged in some close racing with their sister ship after leaving Nynashamn and made their way through the narrow channel between Denmark and Sweden.

Prior to entering the North Sea, Lewander had reported that “the weather charts look to be showing some strong winds as we come out into the North Sea, which will mean we arrive earlier at the training base, but there is higher risk.”

No sooner had he recorded those thoughts in his daily blog and returned to his duties on deck that the north-westerly wind increased and Ericsson 3 was doing speeds of up to 21 knots and reaching 70-100 degrees.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, Lewander was flushed down the leeward side of the cockpit by a large wave and suffered a 10cm cut to the back of the head. Onboard medic Richard Mason did the running repairs on a makeshift bed of spinnaker cloth and after a few hours rest Lewander was back on deck.

“Looking back we were all prepared for the increase in wind,” he said. “We were steering the boat in over 30 knots of wind with gusts of 38 knots. We were all wearing our harnesses when there was a ‘bad wave’ call from the back of the boat but I slipped and got washed down the leeward side of the cockpit.”

Ericsson 3 also reported that leaking water damaged the communication equipment in the navigation station. Martin Stomberg and Stefan Myrälf were also busy stitching a damaged genoa for the second time in as many hours.

On board Ericsson 4, the international crew also anticipated the change in weather conditions. “The standard of living will get worse again,” commented Ryan [Godfrey], just as they entered the North Sea.

This morning the international crew is through the English Channel and halfway between Ushant and the Cherbourg Peninsula.

“We've had a pretty full-on trip up until now,” said Phil Jameson, bowman on Ericsson 4. “It's hard to believe that its not long since we launched the boat, and already we've sailed 1,200 miles in her, done 30 knots of boat speed, had three reefs in the main, and banged away upwind in 20-25 knots for 36 hours.

“It has been a good way to find out about all the niggly little problems that you encounter with a new boat. It has been a very wet trip so far. Going on deck without wet-weather gear, is about as sensible as walking through a carwash in a business suit. We have been given a real taste of what to expect in the race.”

On current routing, Ericsson 4 expects to pass Cape Finisterre tomorrow morning, and Ericsson 3 some hours later.