Walker's World Race Diary - 19 February

Green Dragon skipper Ian Walker analyses the latest developments in the Volvo round the world race in his exclusive diary

(Green Dragon Racing)

The mammoth 12,500 mile leg five, the longest in Volvo Ocean race history, from Qingdao, China to Rio de Janeiro, Brasil is under way. The good news is that it is under way at breakneck speed and the first 2,000 miles have flown by. We have been blast reaching at speeds of over 30 knots at times past Korea and and Japan as if they were service stations on the motorway.

Now in the Pacific, we have 8,000 miles of almost open ocean before rounding the notorious Cape Horn. Tactically it is a battle to get south into the Southern Ocean, where the strongest winds will be to propel us west to Cape Horn, but you also have to go east, as the notorious doldrum area of light winds are wider to cross in the west.

It will be so tempting to dive south early, but this could come at a high price later. Our course is likely to take us on a tour of Pacific rugby playing nations such as Fiji, Samoa and Tonga before leaving New Zealand to starboard and digging down into the Southern Ocean.

Click below to listen to Stuart Alexander talk to Ian Walker by satellite phone.

Ian Walker has won two silver medals at the Atlanta and Sydney Olympic Games and was skipper of the Team GBR challenge for the America’s Cup in Auckland in 2003. Now he is skipper of the Galway-based, Chinese-partnered Green Dragon team in the Volvo Ocean Race and is writing an exclusive commentary for The Independent plus talking to Stuart Alexander by satellite link from the boat during the 10 legs and 37,000 miles that take the fleet from Spain around the world to St. Petersburg.