Ericsson punished for entering exclusion zone

The trials and tribulations of the Ericsson team in the Volvo round the world race resulted in only moderate pain in Singapore today, when Ericsson 3 was docked one point for straying into an exclusion zone on leg three from Kochi, south-west India, to Singapore.

The second of the two Ericsson boats admitted the error to an international jury headed by Britain's Bryan Willis. Although they had been the wrong side of the line for only three minutes and forty seconds south of Sri Lanka and navigator Aksel Magdahl said that no racing advantage had been gained, the jury still felt that it had to keep everything honest. It means that Ericsson 3 now has 22.5 points but retains its fourth place, two points ahead of the Irish entry, Green Dragon.

More serious could have been a case brought against the lead boat overall, Ericsson 4. The jury was being asked by the official measurers to consider what should be done about E4 replacing the sacrificial bow section used when presenting the boat for official measurement with a new section not reported to the measurers. But the jury found there had been no infringement and E4 continues to top the table

Ericsson had already been in trouble, E3 being docked four points on the first leg from Alicante to Cape Town after fitting the keel from E4 which was deemed to be outside the measurement rule.

A different kind of trouble has hit Vincent Riou, the man who rescued Jean le Cam from his upturned boat when 200 miles west of Cape Horn in the Vendee Globe solo round the world race.

Riou, who won the race in 2004-05, hit le Cam's boat during the operation of pulling le Cam from the sea but continued to sail, planning to drop le Cam at the foot of South America, probably in Ushuaia.

But, less than 20 miles from one of the world's most famous landmarks, Riou was dismasted.

He has not asked for any official help, but was arranging privately for a tow to safety and the Chilean Navy was sending a tug from Port Williams.

Riou was lying fourth at the time but this is now taken up by Britain's Samantha Davies, one of only two women starters in the original 30 which set off from Les Sables d'Olonne on 9 November.

She is 1,150 miles behind third-placed Armel le Cleac'h as Michel Desjoyeaux, 2,000 miles ahead of her, continues to lead by 100 miles from Roland Jourdain.

It puts Brian Thompson up to sixth and the second British woman competitor,Dee Caffari, who has slipped a place, into eighth, one ahead of Steve White in the 10-year old Toe in the Water (Spirit of Weymouth).