Battered fleet suffers another casualty

VOLVO OCEAN RACE: The raging conditions battering the fleet in the Volvo Ocean Race continue to take their toll as Team Delta Lloyd became the latest boat to drop out of the fourth leg this evening. The boat, which had been sailing in fourth position, has been forced to divert to Taiwan having suffered structural damage to the bow.

After the earlier withdrawals of both Telefonica Black and Ericsson 3, not to mention the problems suffered by Green Dragon, there are now just four boats with any real chance of finishing the leg.

Although the crew of Delta Lloyd, the Dutch-Irish entry owned by Ger O'Rourke, have yet to officially suspend racing pending further inspection, it seems the likely course of action once they reach Taiwan.

"We are very disappointed, as we really wanted to do well in this leg. But Chuny (Bermudez) doesn't take any risks in terms of the crew's safety," crew member Sander Pluijm explained.

"At the time we discovered the crack, we were sailing under storm jib and with three reefs in the main. Especially with the cold Chinese weather coming up, it was irresponsible to continue racing. We informed the coast guard and put the safety procedure into operation."

Telefonica Blue continues to lead the way at the head of the fleet, some 420 miles short of Qingdao, while both Ericsson 4 and Team Puma are still in contention.

The crew of Green Dragon may yet finish the leg but are simply limping towards mainland China at this stage after sustaining yet more damage in the treacherous conditions. And the next 24 hours promise to be no smoother as they round the northern tip of Taiwan.

But despite the prospect of another week at sea before reaching the sanctuary of Qindao, skipper Ian Walker is determined to get his boat home.

"The reality of maybe up to another week at sea is dawning on us and we are starting to economise," he explained this morning. "Already gas, power, some food and loo roll are being rationed!

"This leg is a war of attrition and we will keep fighting until we have no other options. I was close to pulling into Taiwan today when I saw the further damage to the bulkhead, but now we will keep going as I am happy the boat is safe. Singapore to Qingdao hasn't beaten the Dragon yet!"