April 29, 2006, Baltimore, Maryland
Impressive spectator fleet witness movistar victory on Chesapeake Bay
In front of an armada of boats and an estimated 20,000 spectators, movistar pulled off an impressive victory out on Chesapeake Bay in the fifth in-port race of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06.
With a light north easterly wind blowing around 8-10 knots, the race got underway as scheduled and it was the American entry Pirates of the Caribbean that was first out of the starting blocks. Paul Cayard (USA) and his band of Pirates, including the newly crowned Miss USA Tara Connor, timed the start to perfection and leapt off the start line closely followed by Ericsson skippered by fellow American John Kostecki.
By the first mark Ericsson had the advantage and passed Pirates of the Caribbean to take the lead, seven seconds in front of the Spanish entry movistar.
An intense battle between Ericsson and movistar then ensued which resulted in Bouwe Bekking’s (NED) movistar gaining the upper hand to move up into the lead leaving Ericsson to battle it out for second place with Pirates of the Caribbean and Torben Grael’s Brasil 1. With five Olympic medals under his belt, Grael’s experience paid off and he managed to get an inside advantage and get Brasil 1 round in second place.
Both movistar and Brasil 1 managed to stay out in front as the wind dropped to five knots and by the time the race committee decided to shorten the course, movistar had established an unbeatable lead and took maximum points in the race.
Overall race leaders ABN AMRO ONE skippered by Mike Sanderson (NZ) struggled from the start in the light conditions, which the Juan Kouyoumdjian designed boat is not known to excel in, and finished the race in sixth place just behind their sister-ship ABN AMRO TWO.
Although finishing in sixth place, ABN AMRO ONE still comfortably holds on to first place overall, but movistar has closed the gap to within twenty points. Pirates of the Caribbean knocks Sebastien Josse’s (FRA) ABN AMRO TWO off the podium to move up into third place overall.
Leg six from Annapolis to Portsmouth via a pit stop in New York commences on the 7 May. The boats are expected to arrive into New York on the 8 May. For further information, log onto www.volvooceanrace.org.
Results
1st movistar, Bouwe Bekking, NED (2h 21m 32s) 3.5 pts
2nd Brasil 1, Torben Grael, BRA (2h 26m 07s) 3 pts
3rd Pirates of the Caribbean, Paul Cayard, USA (2h 26m 57s) 2.5 pts
4th Ericsson Racing Team, John Kostecki, USA (2h 29m 17s) 2 pts
5th ABN AMRO TWO, Sebastien Josse (FRA) (2h 29m 49s) 1.5 pts
6th ABN AMRO ONE, Mike Sanderson (NZ) (2h 35m 18s) 1 pt
7th Brunel, Grant Wharington (AUS) (2h 35m 50s) 0.5 pts
Current Leaderboard
[position/team name/skipper/race points to date]
1st ABN AMRO ONE, Mike Sanderson (NZL) 63.5 pts
2nd movistar, Bouwe Bekking (NED) 44 pts
3rd Pirates of the Caribbean, Paul Cayard (USA) 41.5 pts
4th ABN AMRO TWO, Sebastien Josse (FRA) 41.0 pts
5th Brasil 1, Torben Grael (BRA) 37.0 pts
6th Ericsson Racing Team, John Kostecki (USA) 30.5 pts
7th Brunel, Grant Wharington (AUS) 0.5 pts
For further information please contact:
Sacha Oswald, Travelling Press Officer in Baltimore
Tel: +1 410 869 6210
Email: sacha.oswald@volvooceanrace.org
To receive the latest positions and breaking news on your mobile telephone, text “Alert” to 0046 737 494949
Images
Royalty free images for editorial use are available from the Image Archive at http://media.vemuk.com. For assistance, please contact: Picture Desk Manager Mobile: +44 7801 185 320 Email: images@volvooceanrace.org.
- Further information can be found at www.volvooceanrace.org.
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