STOCKHOLM, Sweden (Nov. 25, 2008) - Ericsson Racing Team's two crews in the Volvo Ocean Race have swapped first and second a few times since clearing the Leg 2 scoring gate last Thursday, but their advantage over the fleet has dwindled as it transitions away from the trade winds and into the Doldrums.

(Photo: Gustav Morin)
At today's 1300 GMT position report, Torben Grael's International crew on Ericsson 4 was just over 1,000 nautical miles from the finish in Cochin, India, and held a 7-nautical-mile lead over Anders Lewander's Nordic crew on Ericsson 3.
Behind them, however, the fleet is closing in. Third-placed Puma had closed to 11 miles after trailing by 44 miles yesterday. Telefónica Blue (fourth) and Green Dragon (fifth) were 22 and 27 miles behind, respectively, after trailing by 51 and 72 miles yesterday. Even Kosatka, the fleet back marker, had gained 72 miles in the past 24 hours.
There's a simple reason for the slowing: the Indian Ocean Doldrums. The lightest winds are situated between 03S and 05S latitude, but the top five in the fleet were all north of 09S latitude and feeling the effects. Windspeeds were down to 10 knots and boatspeeds were a sedate 12 to 13 knots, still faster than the windspeed but mundane compared to the 20-knot power reaching of two days ago.
"We'll see and feel and plan ahead," said Ericsson 3 skipper Lewander. "Aksel (Magdahl, navigator) is digging deep into the different models. Unfortunately, we don't have radar, but we work off updated satellite imagery and Aksel is working with a picture of where to put us in the best way. It's a tricky one."
The trick to the situation is the winds on the northern side of the Doldrums. Today the fleet is in an east/southeasterly wind, but on the other side of the Doldrums the winds are predicted west/southwesterly, nearly a 180-degree shift. That means that boats on the windward side of the fleet today could well be on the leeward side tomorrow.
"We're picking our way through the transition and getting to the westerlies," said Jules Salter, Ericsson 4 navigator. "You've got to sail your own race. There's a big shift coming, and we're trying to place ourselves for it. But the west-to-east separation is probably 200 miles. So if one side pays more than other, then it'll be hard to keep under control."
Despite the lateral spread, there's amazingly little separation among the top five after 11 days at sea and approximately 3,500 nautical miles of sailing, a testament to the speed of the boats, the prowess of navigators and the seamanship of the crews. Lewander said the leg has been rough and very wet.
"We've had 11 days at sea and for 10 we've been hammered with spray like crazy," said the 45-year-old skipper from Stockholm. "There's been one day without an enormous amount of spray over deck, that was after we turned north at the gate. It's been a tough leg, a really, really wet leg. Just looking at last night with strong winds and a little overpowered - wet, wet, wet."
VOLVO OCEAN RACE LEG 2 LEADERBOARD
(Nov. 25, 2008, 1300 GMT)
1. Ericsson 4, 1,086 nautical miles to finish
2. Ericsson 3, 7 NM to leader
3. Puma, 11 NM to leader
4. Telefónica Blue, 22 NM to leader
5. Green Dragon, 27 NM to leader
6. Delta Lloyd, 95 NM to leader
7. Telefónica Black, 98 NM to leader
8. Kosatka, 142 NM to leader

Ericsson Racing Team