Breaking the waves

Brazilian skipper Torben Grael steers Ericsson 4 to first place in the opening leg of the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race in Cape Town, South Africa on Tuesday. The first of the race's 10 stages was won some 21 days and 17 hours after Grael and his international crew set sail from the Spanish port of Alicante on Oct 11. Puma Ocean Racing trailed by almost 12 hours and 120 nautical miles, Ericsson 3 was third and Green Dragon Team (co-sponsored by Ireland and China) fourth. Although Ericsson 4 lost crewman Tony Mutter mid-race due to an inflamed knee, it still managed to hold off the other seven members of the fleet and become the world's first crewed monohull yacht to eclipse the mythical 600-nautical-mile barrier in 24 hours. The crew averaged 25.11 knots to beat the old record of 562.96 by traversing 602.66 nautical miles in a day's run, according to Volvo Ocean Race officials. Ericsson 4 now leads the overall standings with 14 points. Puma is one back and Green Dragon ranks third with 11.