The third leg of the Volvo Ocean Race, between Cochin in India and Singapore, has been won by Telefonica Blue of Spain. The favorites to win, Ericsson 4 of Sweden, came into Singapore in fourth position closing the ranks on the points table. The 1,950 nautical miles of the leg sawthe US Puma Ocean Racing team come in second and Sweden’s Ericsson 3 team come in thrid only 4minutes and 40 seconds ahead of their compatriots.  Whilst in Singapore the teams will undertake one of the 5 in-port races scheduled into the race before heading off to Qingdao, China on January 18th.

Some information courtesy of the New York Times online.

The Vendee round the world solo yacht race threw another twist to its unyielding and vicious tale on Thursday when French sailor Yann Elies suffered a broken leg, the result of his yacht being hit by a huge wave 800 miles off the coast of Australia.  Two other competitors, British yachtswoman Sam Davies and Frenchman Marc Guillemot, heroically altered their course to go to his aid and arrived at about the same time as an Australian naval frigate. As Davies noted “most of the time we are our nearest rescuers.” and due to their actions and sportsmanship Elies is now under a doctor’s care.  Davies and Guillemot have now returned to the race as it heads towards the open expanse of the Pacific Ocean along the clipper routes of old.