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4 March 2006, 10:00 am

Spirits are Rising

Volvo Ocean Race 2005-2006

After the battering the fleet had as it rounded Cape Horn yesterday, the lighter winds that the crews have as they sail around the southern side of The Falkland Islands and back into the Atlantic is more than welcome. Spirits are rising and grins are back on the faces of the tired crews.

Hatches, which were once closed to prevent an unwelcome torrent of water pouring into the boat, have been opened and the boats are beginning to dry out. The chance of sleep without the boat shaking and bouncing as the crews cling to their bunks is now possible and lying huddled on the floor in a survival suit is no longer necessary as the urgency to get everyone up on deck immediately has become less of a reality.

But this is no time to rest on their laurels, the battle for supremacy in the North Atlantic is on and while the boats are storm battered, and bent, the crews are gathering their strength to take on each other again in the last third of this leg to Rio de Janeiro.

Overnight, ABN AMRO TWO (Sebastien JOSSE) has worked his young team in to second place, pushing Pirates of the Caribbean (Paul Cayard) into third. The fleet is 168 nautical miles east of the Falkland Islands and 550 nautical miles from the Argentinean coast. As predicted, the boats have closed together and now only 48 nautical miles separates first to fifth position.

Leader Mike Sanderson is frustrated. Time and time again he has seen his substantial lead eaten away by the back runners, and, once again, as history repeats itself, it is ABN AMRO TWO who is threatening his lead. 'Just amazing that you can be 200 odd miles behind as was the case with the Kids on ABN AMRO TWO or the Brazilians, but probably more frustrating even still is the fact that Ericsson has worked their way back into this race.'

Movistar has arrived in Ushuaia, after being escorted all the way by the Chilean navy. The team will now lift the boat out of the water to inspect the damage.

Cape Horn Rounding Times And Points For Leg Four Scoring Gate

Team	Nation	Skipper	Time	Pts
ABN AMRO ONE	NED	Mike SANDERSON (NZL)	02/03/2006 - 1238 UTC	3.5
Pirates of the Caribbean	USA	Paul CAYARD (USA)	02/03/2006 - 1440 UTC	3
Brasil 1	BRA	Torben GRAEL (BRA)	02/03/2006 - 1810 UTC	2.5
ABN AMRO TWO	NED	Sebastian JOSSE (FRA)	02/03/2006 - 2125 UTC	2
Ericsson Racing Team	SWE	Neal MCDONALD (GBR)	02/03/2006 - 2158 UTC	1.5
movistar	ESP	Bouwe BEKKING (NED)	03/03/2006	1

Position Report At 1000 Hours UTC, 4 March 2006

Team	Nation	Skipper	Latitude	Longitude	DTF	DTL	DTLC	CMG	SMG	VMG	ETA
ABN AMRO ONE	NED	Mike SANDERSON (NZL)	50 30.02S	53 28.03W	1725	0	0	40	13.7	16.2	09/03/2006 17:00 UTC
ABN AMRO TWO	NED	Sebastian JOSSE (FRA)	51 3.01S	52 54.00W	1749	24	-2	30	12.7	16.1	09/03/2006 19:00 UTC
Pirates of the Caribbean	USA	Paul CAYARD (USA)	50 43.01S	54 41.02W	1754	29	-5	39	12.5	16.1	09/03/2006 19:00 UTC
Brasil 1	BRA	Torben GRAEL (BRA)	50 40.02S	56 1.01W	1771	46	-13	17	10.7	16	09/03/2006 21:00 UTC
Ericsson Racing Team	SWE	Neal McDONALD (GBR)	51 20.20S	53 34.02W	1773	48	-7	38	12.3	16	09/03/2006 21:00 UTC
movistar	ESP	Bouwe BEKKING (NED)	54 48.02S	68 17.02W	2340	615	-77	0	0	14.3	13/03/2006 06:00 UTC

DTF: Distance To Finish
DTL: Distance To Leader
DTLC: Distance To Leader Change; the difference between the distance from the boat to the leader taken at the time of the last six hour poll, and the distance from the boat to the leader at the previous poll
CMG: Course Made Good; the average course steered over the period of the past six hours up to the time of the last poll
SMG: Speed Made Good
VMG: Velocity Made Good; the average velocity of the boat towards the finish over the entire leg
ETA: Estimated Time of Arrival

Overall Leaderboard
(Up to and including Leg Four Scoring Gate - not yet ratified)

Pos	Team	Nation	Skipper	Pts
1	ABN AMRO ONE	NED	Mike SANDERSON (NZL)	42
2	ABN AMRO TWO	NED	Sebastien JOSSE (FRA)	30
3	movistar	ESP	Bouwe BEKKING (NED)	26
5	Pirates of the Caribbean	USA	Paul CAYARD (USA)	24.5
4	Brasil 1	BRA	Torben GRAEL (BRA)	22.5
6	Ericsson Racing Team	SWE	Neal MCDONALD (GBR)	18
7	ING Real Estate Brunel	AUS	Grant WHARINGTON (AUS)	11.5