Skippered by British yachtsman Neal McDonald and with four of its eleven crewmembers sailing in home waters, the Ericsson Racing Team had high hopes of a podium position in today's in-port race. However, the end result was disappointing, as Neal McDonald explains:

"This was not a great day for us. There were very big shifts and it was very challenging. These conditions are not unusual for the Solent, but we obviously didn't make the best of them. We also blew a spinnaker out, which was a big set back for us. Luckily, we managed to get most of it back onboard."

The in-port race took place in an area of the Solent seven miles south east of Portsmouth harbour. Conditions for the start were windy, with 20 knots of south-south westerly breeze, and the fleet headed upwind to a turning mark some five miles south of Hayling Island.

All the boats jostled for the right side of the line, except for Pirates of the Caribbean which went left. Ericsson got out in fourth, with the two ABN Amro boats to windward. "We had a fairly good start, but then we were forced to tack to the wrong side of the course by Brasil 1," commented Magnus Woxén. In the end, Pirates of the Caribbean and Brunel were the only boats to go left.

The Pirates' decision paid off. They got a good wind shift and reached the top mark with a comfortable lead over the rest of the fleet. ABN Amro One rounded second, followed by Brasil 1 and then Ericsson. The boats headed downwind on the first of four leeward legs. Positions remained unchanged as they rounded the top mark for the second time, and it was just after this that Ericsson blew out its spinnaker. ABN Amro Two passed them and Ericsson dropped back to fifth.

It was not the only boat to suffer damage from the building breeze. Pirates of the Caribbean ripped a spinnaker, allowing ABN Amro One to take the lead. Despite a tough fight, Ericsson was unable to gain a position. ABN Amro finished first, followed by Pirates of the Caribbean and Brasil 1.

- End -

Quotes:

Matthew Pinsent (GBR) (four times Olympic gold medallist in rowing): "I am used to being on a very simple boat, with one or three other people, gliding on flat water for a very short time. So it was very interesting to be on an incredibly high tech boat with ten people who live onboard for months at a time and have extraordinary coordination. The noises were very impressive - you keep thinking something is going to break. I was also impressed by the speed of these yachts. We reached up to 20 knots going downwind - it was great."

Andrew Cape (AUS): "It was very easy for me to step onboard Ericsson. I know most of the guys, the boats are very similar and the navigation systems are identical. Obviously, today could have been better. It was extremely shifty out there and we missed the first shift right after the start, which put us in a bad position. After this we had a few come backs, but unfortunately not enough."

Magnus Woxén (SWE): "We had a fairly good start, but then we were forced to tack to the wrong side of the course by Brasil 1. When we got to the windward mark, our spinnaker got stuck and ripped on the stanchions, which cost us a lot. These two incidents explain our ranking. Other than that, the crew work was fine. There are many new crewmembers in our team. It was a physical race with all those shifts."

Notes to Editors Ericsson Racing Team, headed by Ericsson, the world's leading telecommunications supplier is supported by Sony, Sony Ericsson and by Semcon as design and development partner. For updates and pictures on the Ericsson Racing Team's participation in the Volvo Ocean Race, please visit www.ericssonracingteam.com. You can register as media to download high resolution images for editorial use. High resolution video footage is available on request.

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