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An invigorating weekend at stage 4 of the 2018 Volvo Ocean Race

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Over the past weekend, the Volvo Ocean Race 2018 fleet broke free from the clutches of the languishing equatorial doldrums and found a clear leader in Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag, despite the crew having to rescue a team member who fell overboard.

This Saturday the famous round-the-world crews were picked up one by one by north-easterly trade winds and were finally able to continue the full race towards the coveted Hong Kong.

«Conditions were really tough," Carolijn Brouwer, a Dongfeng crew member, described the preceding five days. "The wind was up from 4 to 11 knots, so we were starting to shift all the weight back into the boat. As soon as we were done, the wind would die down again and we'd have to move everything back. It's a real dance we have to do».

While the other teams were heading strictly north in pursuit of good winds, the Scallywag team took the west. Contrary to unfavourable forecasts, this strategy still paid off. David Witt and his crew managed to skillfully cut a corner and cut valuable miles to the finish line. The black and red boat is now heading to her home port at the head of the fleet with an 80 mile advantage over her nearest pursuers, Vestas 11th Hour Racing and Team AkzoNobel.

The Hong Kong-flagged team maintained their lead even after one of their crew, Alex Gough, went overboard during a sail change yesterday.

The cause of the fall was a mistake on the part of the skipper, who should have been wearing a safety rope when not in use. The crew had to turn the boat around to rescue the careless colleague as quickly as possible. Fortunately, despite 18 knots of wind, Gough was back on board within 7 minutes. He proved to be perfectly fine and the crew continued the race with the same fervour, losing several miles of advantage due to the manoeuvre.

The return to the Northern Hemisphere also marked the second «Neptune Da»y of the regatta for the 5 members who joined the circumnavigation in Melbourne participants, who crossed the equator under sail for the first time in their lives. Traditionally the newcomers got their portion of rotten leftover provisions, and some lost the hair on their heads.

While the fleet maintained a steady 20 knots of wind and the miles slipped lightning fast under their keels, they now had a tricky stretch of scattered islands and reefs in Micronesia to contend with. And there are still nearly 2,000 nautical miles to go before the finish line of this leg.

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