Click to enlarge.Close start out of Boston: 16th May, 2009.
The crew onboard Green Dragon were given a warm send off in Boston by a huge crowd of Irish supporters, all cheering on as the boat left the dock to the sound of their team song ‘Galway Girl’.

In a 15 knot south easterly breeze the fleet started Leg 7, but the fleet were recalled from the first start after the start gun malfunctioned. Once racing got underway again, it was a split fleet off the line with the home team PUMA leading the fleet to the top mark.

Telefonica Blue led her sistership around the first mark, followed by Green Dragon just holding off PUMA, then Ericsson 4 and Ericsson 3, whilst Delta Lloyd was pushed away from the mark by the coastguard because of an approaching freighter! The fleet then headed back down into the harbour as a dense fog started to set in around the city. Telefonica Blue held her lead and rounded the bottom mark ahead of Telefonica Black, PUMA managed to slip through just ahead of Green Dragon, with Ericsson 4 and Ericsson 3 chasing hard on the Dragon’s tail. Delta Lloyd was forced to play catch up in distant 7th, after the freighter incident earlier on the course. As the fleet headed back up and out of the harbour it was to be round two with the freighter, which now under pilot boat was making its way back towards the fleet. The two Telefonica boats held their course with the rest of the pack around a minute behind. Green Dragon were caught by Ericsson 4 as they pass the freighter but still held off Ericsson 3 as they headed out passed the final channel mark. Delta Lloyd bought up the rear of the pack as the fleet disappeared into the thick fog that had now covered the harbour. They will head north-east up the coast of New England as they make their way out passed the whale exclusion zone this evening.

Current forecasts suggest slightly lighter speeds are expected to the east and north as the fleet ventures out of Boston Harbor. As the evening approaches the cold front should advance far enough east to cause a building gradient wind, which will veer to the South/South West across the coastal waters of New England. Conditions may become increasingly gusty during the evening and overnight ahead of the cold front.

For Green Dragon Leg 7 has great significance as they race across the Atlantic to their home port of Galway in Ireland. This is also a unique leg for the crew as they will be in active communication with the online Volvo Ocean Race Game community, every 12 hours Ian Moore and Ian Walker will send the online community a question regarding the current situation on the boat. The community will vote and the crew will decide what to do.
May 18- The exit out of Boston was a challenging passage for Green Dragon, as they weaved their way through hundreds of lobster pots and the container ships which lined the route out. Add a drop in temperature and a thick fog and the start has not been an easy one. The fleet headed out around the whale exclusion zone and then headed east towards Nova Scotia. Navigating the lobster pots was not an easy task and it turned into a bigger challenge for Green Dragon after they became entangle with several lobClose start out of Boston: 16th May, 2009 The crew onboard Green Dragon were given a warm send off in Boston by a huge crowd of Irish supporters, all cheering on as the boat left the dock to the sound of their team song ‘Galway Girl’.ster pots. They cleared two of them, but the damage to the port daggerboard was clear, as one line had sawn its way through the leading edge leaving them with a 250 cut in the laminate. The repair is now complete and the crew are now working on pulling back valuable miles on the pack ahead, they now lay in seventh place 30 miles behind current leader PUMA. “This is a big disappointment as we were in sight of five boats and sailing well. We can only hope that we don’t lose touch with the fleet and live to fight another day,“ commented Skipper Ian Walker.

For the time being the fleet have been in a drag race as they head towards the scoring gate, which they are due to pass tomorrow morning. They will then focus on the ice exclusion zone, where the drag race should end and the tactical options will start to come into play. Current forecasts suggest a big low pressure system waiting for the fleet once they have navigated their way around the ice box, a fast a furious downwind sprint to the finish in Galway looks to be on the cards.