Ericsson Racing Team (STO:ERIC) ERICSSON RACING TEAM GIRDING FOR FRIGID, DIFFICULT LEG 4

Ericsson Racing Team (STO:ERIC) SINGAPORE (Jan. 14, 2009) - Leg 4 of the 2008-'09 Volvo Ocean Race is a 2,500-nautical-mile passage from Singapore to China, one that is expected to last about two weeks. But it could be a leg that breaks both boat and man.

Leg 4 takes the fleet up the South China Sea bound for Qingdao, China, host last summer to the Olympic Regatta. It could be upwind all the way with wind speeds averaging between 15 and 25 knots. Also, there's northerly flowing current on parts of the course that could produce square waves of up to 20 feet.

"The Siberian high is the primary system driving the weather," said team meteorologist Chris Bedford. "It sits on top of Mongolia and is one of the strongest high-pressure systems in the world.

"It's basically an extension of the cold air from the North Pole, but the water temperature over most of the course will be warm," Bedford continued. "When cold air mixes with warm water you get tight pressure gradients between the high and low pressures. The pressure changes quickly between the cold air and warm water, and where it changes quickly you get lots of wind."

Beyond the wind and waves, the sailors will be heading from the tropics of Singapore to winter in China. The mean temperature in Qingdao since the beginning of the year has been -2 degrees Celsius, with wind chills as cold as -17C. By comparison, the mean temperature in Singapore has been 26 degrees Celsius.

"Added to the wind and big seas we're going to be sailing into colder and colder weather," said Stu Bannatyne, watch captain on Ericsson 4. "By the time we get to Qingdao it could be sub-zero temperatures, which is just going to make it completely miserable."

"I'm not really looking forward to it," said Magnus Olsson, who'll skipper Ericsson 3 on Leg 4. "None of the sailors are looking forward to it."

Bedford rates the leg a 10 out of 10 in terms of difficulty. From a tactical point of view, it's broken down into three parts.

The first part from the start to Taiwan takes the fleet across the warm waters (20 to 25 degrees Celsius) of the South China Sea. There are atolls to contend with west of the Philippines and also strong currents.

Part 2 involves Taiwan. The fleet has a choice of sailing to the east of the island or through Taiwan Strait, between the island and mainland China.

To the east of Taiwan is the northerly flowing Japan Current, which sends warm water towards Japan. The sea floor rises sharply off Taiwan, which affects the wave pattern.

Taiwan Strait is equally nasty because it is so narrow, 97 nautical miles wide, creating a funneling affect for both wind and current. But crews may choose to sail there if they've had enough of pounding in big waves.

Sailing up against the coast of China can offer some refuge in the form of light winds and flatter seas. It's a slightly shorter course on a straight line, approximately 50 nautical miles, but it could take longer with the lighter winds and numerous tacks required to stay near the coast.

North of Taiwan the sea surface temperature drops to 10 to 15 degrees Celsius. Additionally, the wind backs from the northeast to the northwest once clear of Taiwan, keeping the fleet on the wind.

"There are some variables off Taiwan and south of Qingdao where it could be light winds," Bedford said. "But it'll be upwind all the way. The wind backs to the northwest around the periphery of the Siberian high."

VOLVO OCEAN RACE LEADERBOARD (Through Singapore In-Port Race) 1. Ericsson 4, 39 points 2. Telefónica Blue, 33.5 3. Puma, 31 4. Ericsson 3, 24 5. Green Dragon, 22.5 6. Telefónica Black, 22 7. Team Russia, 10 8. Delta Lloyd, 10

ENDS

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Ericsson Racing Team

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