Volvo Ocean Race: Green Dragon was unable to provide the massive crowds in Galway with the cheer they so desperately wanted today, finishing last of the seven yachts in the In Port races. In front of over 100,000 people, the Irish-Chinese boat came home a disappointing seventh.
The fleet headed out into Galway Bay for the sixth In Port race of the series with the Dragon opting for a port tack start heading to the right hand side of the course with Delta Lloyd in close pursuit.
The rest of the fleet opted to go left and it paid dividends as Telefonica Blue, Telefonica Black and Puma took the podium places with Green Dragon finishing seventh.
In the day’s second race, Green Dragon again headed off on their own again to the right hand side of the course and again it failed to bring any advantage.
Puma crossed the line to take pole position, with Ericsson 3 holding second and Telefonica Blue being forced to finish third, securing second overall on the day.
“It wasn’t to be today,” commented Green Dragon skipper Ian Walker. “It was amazing looking at the crowds that lined the shore, we didn’t come back with the result we wanted but we gave it our all. That’s yacht racing I guess, sometimes things just don’t go your way.
“We showed good speed on the downwind sections of the course, and we are hoping for some good downwind sailing to Sweden. I would like to say a huge thank you to all the local support we have received, we have been blown away. We need to re-group now and focus on the next leg. There are still points to be gained and our battle for fourth place overall is not over.”
Galway In Port final results(after two races)
1. Puma
2. Telefonica Blue
3. Telefonica Black
4. Ericsson 3
5. Ericsson 4
6. Delta Lloyd
7. Green Dragon