Ericsson 4 has done it again. This is a team with a lot of experience of their boat, and a boat that has been superbly built and prepared – which allows the team to push her hard with confidence. It’s going to be hard to beat her over such a gruelling course.
To give you a feel for what she went through and what it did to competing boats and their crews, take a look as this composite video created by the YachtPals.com staff:
… and here’s the official Volvo video.
There are going to be some very busy support teams in Cochin. Puma needs some serious rebuilding before she sets off on leg 3. First, they’ll have to remove all the incredible work done by her crew under conditions that would have had the original builders tearing their hair out. It’s a superb demonstration of how far bonding technology has progressed – not that long ago, low ambient temperatures and even moderate humidity while laying up a hull were recipes for disaster.
Sorry. Just noticed that I embedded the wrong video. I’ve corrected that, and added the rather more peaceful official Video of Ericsson 4′s arrival in Cochin to provide a bit of contrast.