Thousands turn out to wave off Volvo Ocean Race from Brazil

The Volvo Ocean Race fleet leave Rio on leg 5 © Jon Nash / ABN AMRO

The Volvo Ocean Race fleet leave Rio on leg 5 © Jon Nash / ABN AMRO

Over 20,000 spectators lined Copacabana Beach and thousands more took to the water to wave off the competitors of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06.

Local hero’s Brasil 1, the first Brazilian entry in the race, was the star attraction this morning as the yachts departed from Marina da Gloria to the tunes of the 100 piece navy band.

Brasil 1, skippered by Torben Grael, was keen to be the first out of the starting blocks in home waters but unfortunately was a little over eager and as the starting gun fired they were on the wrong side of the line and were recalled by the race committee.

Further drama came shortly after the start when overall race leader ABN AMRO ONE’s head sail dropped to the deck due to a broken halyard. Mike Sanderson (NZ) and his team made a quick recovery but sailed out of Guanabara Bay in sixth place behind the fleet.

Under the leadership of new skipper John Kostecki (USA) and with a special send-off from their Godmother, Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Ericsson led off the starting line and out of the bay.

Rio de Janeiro provided a spectacular backdrop as the fleet sailed out past Rio’s famous landmark of Sugar Loaf Mountain and to the turning mark off Copacabana Beach.

In the light airs under Sugar Loaf mountain the three front runners; Ericsson, Paul Cayard’s (USA) Pirates of the Caribbean and ABN AMRO TWO skippered by Frenchman Sebastien Josse, bunched up as the wind dropped to 5 knots.

As they approached the turning mark before heading out to open seas, The Pirates managed to sneak past Ericsson and eventually rounded the mark 32 seconds in-front. Josse and his young crew onboard ABN AMRO TWO were battling hard and passed the turning mark 48 seconds behind Ericsson. Bouwe Bekking’s (NED) movistar were next to turn, rounding just less than two minutes behind the early race leaders.

Brasil 1 attracted a large fleet of followers, who were marshalled by the Brazilian navy, as they headed away from Rio. Grael and his team were fifth to round the mark, 42 seconds behind movistar.

ABN AMRO ONE was the final boat to round, over 13 minutes behind first placed Pirates of the Caribbean.

As the coastline of Brazil disappears from view and the breeze continues to build, the teams will now be looking forward to the next milestone on the leg, the scoring gate at Fernando de Noronha, where they can pick up bonus points on the leg.

Leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race takes the fleet 5000 nautical miles to Baltimore. The boats are expected to arrive between the 17-19 April.

Current Leaderboard: [position/team name/skipper/race points to date]

1st ABN AMRO ONE, Mike Sanderson (NZL) 52.5 pts
2nd ABN AMRO TWO, Sebastien Josse (FRA) 36.5 pts
3rd Pirates of the Caribbean, Paul Cayard (USA) 31.5 pts
4th Movistar, Bouwe Bekking (NED) 31.0 pts
5th Brasil 1, Torben Grael (BRA) 28.5 pts
6th Ericsson Racing Team, John Kostecki (USA) 23.5 pts