On a day that demanded flexibility and quick reflexes, Ericsson Racing Team’s Ericsson 4 won the Singapore In-Port Race of the Volvo Ocean Race with finishes of 2-1.
Skippered by Brazil’s Torben Grael, Ericsson 4 held second all the way around the track in the first race and then posted a come-from-behind win in the second to secure the day’s victory. The overall race leader increased its total to 39 points and now leads second place by 5.5 points.
“I couldn’t be more pleased, it was a hard week for us,” said Grael, the winner of five Olympic medals. “We haven’t practiced in-port racing all that much, not since the first one in Spain. The way the wind was shifting, positions were never secure. It was very demanding on the crew.”
Ericsson 4’s teammates aboard Ericsson 3 experienced a rougher outing. Ericsson 3, led by temporary skipper Magnus Olsson, nailed the start at the pin end in the first race, but that was the highlight of their day.
Ericsson 3 wound up finishing 5-6 and placed sixth for the day, but remains in fourth place overall with 24 points.
“It was a little bit of late tactical calls that didn’t work as hoped,” said Olsson, who took today’s result with humility. “It’s a very fine line. The margin to sail clean is very small.”
Ericsson 4 trailed Telefónica Blue around the first mark in the deciding second race, but grabbed the lead at the leeward mark by working the right side of the first run. Ericsson 4 maintained its lead up to the second beat using covering tactics, and led Telefónica Blue by about three boatlengths at the second windward mark.
