06 June 2009: Start Time: 15:00 hrs (local time)
1250 Nm ETA: Wed 10 Jun 2009
Rick Tomlinson / Volvo Ocean Race
Leg 8 was won by Ericsson 4 at 02:57:19 GMT, 11 June 2009 after 04 days 12 hours 57 minutes and 19 seconds of sailing.
USEFUL DOCUMENTS
Download the Leg 8 course information (PDF 507kb)Download the Leg 8 crew lists (PDF 80kb)
THE LEG
A change of pace, the short sprint leg started in Galway with this 1,250 nautical mile race to Marstrand.
Following a 14:00 GMT race start in Galway, the fleet headed south down the west coast of Ireland, passed inside the Fastnet Rock and then across the English Channel.
Once they reached the Hook of Holland, there was a small detour towards the shore where the Race Committee for the Volvo Ocean Race added two rounding points to the leg eight course, which saw each of the yachts complete a six-mile reaching lap about one mile off the beach near Rotterdam.
Then it was up to the top of the English Channel, into the North Sea and finally to the entrance to the Baltic. For leg eight it was June, early summer. Expected hazards included low pressure systems dominating the weather, and high pressure and light air. Other hazards included the tidal streams running around the British and Irish headlands that the fleet had to negotiate, and once they passed the entrance into the Baltic, they had the mountains of Norway to the north. This area, the Skagerrak, is known to produce some unpredictable weather.
In these northern latitudes, there was plenty of daylight and as the fleet raced, there was little total darkness on this leg.
The Marstrand stop was unique in that it was considered a ‘pit-stop’. So the teams were restricted in what they could do during the short stop. But in general terms, the boats could not be hauled out nor could the shore crew assist the teams in working on the boats. No additional food could be brought on board.
The pit-stop ended with a short, sharp Swedish sprint down to Stockholm, for the main Swedish stopover.