SAILING:Irish challenger Green Dragon took third place in the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race this morning, arriving in Cape Town's Table Bay at 7.12am (Irish time). After nearly 23 days at sea the crew arrived behind winners Ericsson 4 and second-placed PUMA to collect five points and move to 11 on the overall leaderboard.
It leaves the Dragon just two behind PUMA and three adrift of Ericsson 4.
In fact, the Dragon was fourth across the line but Ericsson 3 was penalised two points by the international jury and collected just three as opposed to five.
"It is amazing to be in Cape Town, the crew have done a fantastic job and I am really proud of our result," skipper Ian Walker said on arrival.
The result is all the more impressive given the fact that on route to Cape Town, after taking maximum points at the scoring gate at Fernando de Noronha off the coast of Brazil, the Dragon struck something in the water and the crew prepared for the worst.
"We had three or four heinous days onboard," said Walker. "The moment we hit something was the worst moment of the leg. The boat went from 20-plus knots of speed to a dead stand still. My first reaction was to get the dry suits on and call for a mayday. Luckily though, it didn't come to that."
The damage sustained cost the crew some speed as PUMA and Ericsson 4 set blistering times, the latter having recorded the fastest 24 hours on record.
The nights were pretty scary and it was clear that we're reigning in the speed at this time, especially with our concern over the potential damage to the keel.
"Elsewhere, the kind of miles that Ericsson 4 and PUMA were pulling out overnight were just amazing, and it was clear that we couldn't match those speeds. In the night you really do feel like you are sailing blind, you run into an island and just not know it, so that was a scary concept to get your head around."
The 10 days before the next leg begins will provide invaluable time to fix any damage to the boat, as well as the opportunity to savour a remarkable achievement for a small team.
"We've got to be pleased with this result. It was clear that our 2000 mile qualifier was invaluable. We led the fleet through the scoring gate, which was a real privilege and it gave us valuable points on the score board," added Walker. "But we can't be greedy, we're a small team compared to some of the other campaigns here, and it is clear that in certain conditions they have the edge over us.
"But I think that our job is to keep them on their toes and make them sweat out on the course.
"We certainly had some scary times, and it makes me wonder what the next leg has in store for us."
Overall Leaderboard (Provisional)
1. Ericsson 4: 14 points (FINISHED)
2. PUMA : 13 points (FINISHED)
3. Green Dragon: 11 points (FINISHED)
4. Telefónica Blue: 6 points (RACING)
5. Telefónica Black: 6 points (RACING)
6. Ericsson 3: 5 points (FINISHED)
7. Delta Lloyd: 2 points (RACING)
8. Team Russia: 1 point (RACING)