It was a grey and lumpy North Sea day off the Hook of Holland for the start of Leg 9 following a short but highly successful Rotterdam stop. Ericsson charged off over the horizon out to sea, but the rest of the boats, led by Brasil 1, hugged the shore and made early gains.

Eventually Ericsson joined the party once more, only to get on the wrong side of a wind shift that put ABN AMRO TWO into a comfortable lead. It was light upwind conditions for most of the mid part of the race, and the boats on the right of the course made hay – but not while the sun shone, it was thick fog most of the time.

After concerns that the boats might not reach the finish at the designated time, the winds relented and the Seb Josse’s crew closed on Gothenburg with a good lead – just to fall into a hole in the wind. Pirates swept past for their only win of the race, ABN AMRO TWO had to be satisfied with second, Brasil with third.