SINGAPORE (Jan. 18, 2009) - Ericsson Racing Team's two yachts put
forth a strong
showing today in a short circuit off Singapore before embarking on
Leg 4 of the
Volvo Ocean Race, a 2,500-nautical-mile passage to China.

Although much of the leg is expected to be upwind, the first
four-plus hours have
seen the fleet tight reaching at speeds between 12 and 13 knots. At
the 1000 GMT
position report, Torben Grael's International crew shared the fleet
lead, with 2,414
nautical miles to the finish. Magnus Olsson's Nordic crew was pacing
2 miles behind.

Pre-race talk has speculated on the severity of the conditions the
fleet might
experience on the way to the finish port of Qingdao, China, but
today's start was
contrary to those expectations. A north/northeasterly wind around 12
knots, with
gusts up to 15 knots, and flat seas propelled the fleet around a
6-mile triangle off
the coast of Singapore.

Ericsson 4 and Ericsson 3 were first and third at the first mark
after working the
right side of the initial leg. Grael and the International crew
sailed strong,
winning the boat end of the start line and working the right side of
the beat.

On starboard tack and halfway to the first mark Grael and mates
forced Puma to tack
on their lee bow, and then lifted off their rival to secure the lead.
The
International crew held the lead around the triangle and onto the
open course.

Ericsson 3 also sailed strongly. Olsson's Nordic crew worked the
middle right of the
beat and rolled over Green Dragon at the top mark for third place.
The Nordic crew's
energy was evident when it pulled off a flawless set to the
asymmetric gennaker.

The second leg was a run, followed by a jib reach back to the race
committee boat at
which time the boats were freed onto the course. The order at the
committee boat was
Ericsson 4, Puma, Green Dragon, Ericsson 3, Telefónica Blue,
Telefónica Black and
Delta Lloyd.

Leg 4 is expected to last between 12 and 14 days, depending on the
severity of the
conditions and how much the crews must throttle back to prevent
damage to their
boat.

The first tactical hurdle will come in two or three days, when
skippers and
navigators have to decide whether to pass to the west or east of
Dangerous Grounds,
an area of shoals and atolls to the west of the Philippine island of
Palawan. It's a
shorter distance to the west, but the conditions to the east might be
less damaging.

"Basically, we can't sail into Dangerous Grounds," said Tony Mutter,
trimmer and
helmsman for Ericsson 4. "It depends on a shift whether we tack
before it (and go
west) or have to go east of it. That could be the first split. If the
tail-enders
split west and the leaders go east, they could catch up again."

Leg 4 takes the fleet from the tropical luxuries of Singapore (at 1.4
North
latitude) to Qingdao (at 36.1 N), host last summer to the Olympic
Regatta but now in
the grips of winter.

As the fleet progresses across the South China Sea, past Taiwan, into
the East China
Sea and then the Yellow Sea, the air and sea temperatures are
expected to fall to
freezing levels or colder. Additionally, the wind and wave states at
Luzon Strait,
between southern Taiwan and northern Philippines, could be brutal.

"For the first five days it's fine, followed by two bad days, and
then fine the rest
of the way to China," said Olsson. "The two bad days in Luzon Strait
will decide the
outcome of the race. It's going to blow like stink, and there'll be
lots of current
with us and against the wid. The sea state will be really crazy."

VOLVO OCEAN RACE LEG 4 LEADERBOARD
(Jan. 18, 2009, 1000 GMT)
1. Ericsson 4, 2,414 nautical miles to finish
1. Puma, same
3. Telefónica Blue, +1 NM
4. Ericsson 3, +2 NM
4. Green Dragon, same
4. Telefónica Black, same
7. Delta Lloyd, +3 NM

Interviews in English, Swedish, Portuguese, Spanish and Italian with
the crew of
Ericsson Racing Team are available on www.r2prod.net/ERT.

Further images and interviews are also available at
www.thenewsmarket.com/Ericsson


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