8:17 AM Thu 29 Jan 2009 GMT
Telefonica Blue has won leg four of the Volvo Ocean Race, crossing the finish line in the fog at 07:00:25 GMT, or 15:00:25 local time. With the win Bouwe Bekking and his team earn eight points towards the overall race leaderboard, putting them on 41.5 points overall.
07:00 GMT
This is going to be an instruments only landing for Bouwe Bekking and his team, as the flags on the end of the Olympic harbour breakwater here in Qingdao disappear into the fog. It's slowly rolling across the Central Business District on the other side of the bay, and all but the tops of the skyscrapers are disappearing. But the flags and the tiny patch of water that we can still see show plenty of wind for the arrival of the leaders.
Telefonica Blue just a mile away now, they should finish in a matter of minutes. PUMA and Ericsson 4 still going strong, the gap still six miles, both doing boat speeds in the low teens as they now seem to have found the breeze (and presumably the fog) that has brought Bekking and his crew home.
06:45 GMT
Looking out from Qingdao harbour wall, the fog is rolling in on us in a thick blanket, and pretty soon we won't be able to see much of the finish line. But if anything, the fog is bringing the breeze with it - or rather, the other way around - the important point being that the wind has increased at the finish line.
So it's still looking good for Bouwe Bekking, just four miles to go, and with 11 knots of breeze, they are hammering towards the line. While another 15 miles back, PUMA still has a comfortable six mile advantage on Ericsson 4 - both with about 9 knots of wind speed - again, great Code Zero weather.
06:30 GMT
The breeze is holding up for Bouwe Bekking and his crew, they have 12 knots from the east-northeast - so they are now reaching at a fast, powered-up true wind angle. Perfect Code Zero sailing that should see them across the line.
With just seven miles to go, they still have a lead of 15 miles over PUMA - and if anything the boats behind are in less breeze.
06:15 GMT
The leading trio of Telefonica Blue, PUMA and Ericsson 4 were all approaching the end of the epic that has been Leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race - and doing it under a beautiful blue sky (once you get out of the fog), in flat water and light to moderate breezes. It's a beautiful day in Qingdao, as the city prepares to welcome the fleet.
Telefonica Blue has just 10 miles to go to the finish line, and still maintains a lead of 14 miles from PUMA, with Ericsson 4 another five miles behind. Writing from the boat just a few minutes ago, Telefonica Blue's skipper Bouwe Bekking reported that they were becalmed for nearly half an hour with 30 miles left, but were saved by some breeze - but nothing's ever simple...
'To make it even trickier a thick fog has rolled in - will this leg ever stop giving us a break? We saw on the radar that we passed two boats within a couple of boat-lengths and it makes me wonder if these other boats have a radar as well... So we are having a crewmember to leeward to keep his eyes open as well - 18 miles to go, and still breeze, over and out for this leg from me, I hope we pull it off!!!'
Looking out from the finish, the fog bank finishes about a mile from the finish line, with the breeze very patchy close to the shore.
www.volvooceanrace.org
by Volvo Ocean Race media
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