The Pressure is on for the Frontrunners
The French experienced Formula 18-duo Eric Proust and Romain Motteau on Team Kalix are leading the Archipelago Raid since the first day. But it is not over yet and the followers are constantly nagging at their heals. On the fourth day of the Raid the boats are back in the Åland archipelago, sailing a tight race between the small islands in great conditions with winds around 10-15 knots. Tension is rising and the battle is on.
At the early 5 am start this morning, the Swedish Team Thule (Martin Strandberg/Johan Örtendahl), started paddling straight ahead while the other teams where tacking when leaving Nagu island in the Finnish archipelago. Their physically bold tactics paid off and they led the fleet through leg 7 and won the leg! Team Thule is currently second on the overall ranking and is fighting hard to catch up with the French leader.
America’s Cup sailor Martin Strandberg on Team Thule commented their successful morning: “We made a good choice when we started to paddle at the start instead of putting the jib up. Thanks to this we started off with a small lead, although it was very tight during the whole leg. We made a good tactical decision after the fourth checkpoint and won the leg. Other teams chose another option and had to turn around because of a cable blocking the masts. We're tired now but very motivated, we have to keep up with Proust & Co [Team Kalix]!” -http://www.archipelagoraid.com/news.php
