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We always knew that the Rotterdam stopover would be big for us: home port, in our home country, it was going to be busy. The reality is though that it far out weighed our expectation - the amount of public support and enthusiasm for the Volvo Ocean race was huge. Whenever we went anywhere with the boats there where hundreds of spectator boats, and there was a constant crowd at the race village which then rose to football stadium numbers for arrivals and departures... very, very cool, thank you Rotterdam and the Netherlands for a wonderful time, just such a shame that it was not for a bit longer, it all seemed to come and go very quickly.
The stopover went well for us from a race standpoint on ABN AMRO 1 as well, 2nd in for the leg after a record slow trip from Portsmouth, was a result that we where very happy with and maybe the biggest surprise of any of the Podium finishes so far in the race.
But the most exciting day was the day that we won the In Port race, even though it was the afternoon of the Dutch's first game of the soccer world cup. There where hundreds of boats out on the water and people lining the shore all the way up and down the 20 mile trip of the river. We led from start to finish in conditions that were well under our optimum so it was a very satisfying result, and a great treat to give to our home crowd.
This leg hasn't been going so well. We were a little over anxious to get a good start and were over the line apparently when the gun went, so had to go back which cost us a few minutes, but then all day yesterday the boat just didn't feel itself.
The conditions should have been great for us, normally we are just a bullet in a good 13 to 15 knot beat. We now know why though - since its final inspection in the water we must have picked up or hit something in the water which has knocked off the fairing between the steel and the carbon part of our keel. It's not structural and we have no risk of it causing any more damage, but it is for sure slowing us down.
What a huge relief that we don't need a result in this leg to still win overall, with the conditions so flukey and going against the forecast there must be some stressed people out here. ABN AMRO TWO is currently leading Ericsson so if they finish there then "The Kids" will maintain their 4th spot and even more dramatic is that Brasil 1 is 1st and the Pirates are 5th!!, and if they were to finish like this I believe that Brasil 1 would take 2nd spot off the Pirates.
So for us now with our wounds it is all about getting to Sweden as quickly as possible so we can celebrate with as many of you as possible the winning of this version of the Volvo Ocean Race. Don't get me wrong, we will do everything we can to get there first as well, but that ask, I am guessing, is probably a little too big since we have literally got one of our wings clipped.
I will write again tomorrow to say some goodbyes, but for now it's back to staring at the B&G instruments to see if I can convince the wind to shift left so that our side of the course pays...
Talk soon
Cheers
Mike
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