The three teams that didn't finish leg four - yet (in one case) - are all working hard to re-join the Volvo Ocean Race as soon as possible. For Delta Lloyd and Telefonica Black, it's all about shipping the boats to Rio de Janeiro, and completing repairs there in order to race in leg five. In the case of Ericsson 3, it's a race against time to fix the damage to their boat, finish leg four, and start leg five; perhaps in time to race with the rest of the fleet.

Ericsson 3 is under the most direct time pressure. The team is working frantically to complete repairs to its delaminated hull so that they can re-join the race in time for the leg five start. In part, it's an effort to be competitive in the leg by starting with the others. But equally, it's a question of safety. Being with the rest of the fleet through the Southern Ocean adds an additional safety layer to the leg for all of the teams.

Over the weekend, Gustav Morin, the media crew member aboard Ericsson 3 reported on the progress of repairs with a positive note: "The new piece has been shaped and fitted onto the boat. There is no longer a hole in Ericsson 3!"

On Monday, he said the small team working in Taiwan had been bolstered by reinforcements - nearly the full team has arrived to complete the final stages of the repairs and to get the boat ready to race to Qingdao...and beyond.

"Our boatbuilders are still working around the clock and today almost the entire crew gathered here in Hualien, Taiwan. They have finished what needs to be prepared in China for the long leg and can now be reinforcements," he wrote.

"Everyone is helping to make this happen and we are just taking short breaks for eating and sleeping; we really hope this hard work will pay off. All the guys are pretty tired. It is in times like that people usually make mistakes. Maybe it was from tiredness that Rick Douglas yesterday nearly lost his finger. He slipped with a grinding machine, cut his forefinger open and had to have seven stitches."

Despite the mishap, the team is aiming to leave as soon as possible. As if they needed any more motivation, the Ericsson Racing Team meteorologist, Chris Bedford, says the sooner they get going, the better the weather window will be for completing the trip to Qingdao, which could take two days in favourable conditions, or upwards of three days if the wind Gods are against them.

"The earlier they leave the better. They could leave in a 25 to 30 knot southerly," he said on Tuesday. "The later they are, the more likely they'll run into a northerly change. We think that might happen when they're about halfway here, but if they're delayed (in leaving) then it will happen earlier."

For Magnus Olsson, who will continue as skipper beyond the leg four finish and through at least leg five into Rio, this kind of pressure is simply part of the game.

"You are under pressure all the time, not the least if the boat breaks. The shorecrew is enormously important to make a team win and just to keep the boat in the race," he said. "What we are trying to do now is almost impossible. But we are going to make it!"

Shipping to Rio

Also in Taiwan, Delta Lloyd was placed on board a container ship on Monday, and is now en route to Hong Kong. From there, she will be shipped to Rio de Janeiro. If everything goes according to schedule, the boat will arrive on March 11, just over a week ahead of the ETA for the boats racing to Rio.

The team has announced that a team led by Killian Bushe will be in Brazil to take care of the hull repairs, which the team now thinks may have been caused by collision with an object in the water. He originally built the boat ahead of the 2005-06 Volvo Ocean Race. He was responsible for building both Ericsson boats in this edition of the race. Delta Lloyd is also preparing to fit a new mast in Rio.

For Telefonica Black, it's a similar story, with the departure point to Rio being the last stopover port of Singapore. On Monday, Fernando Echavarri, the skipper of Telefonica Black, gave a short update on the status of the team.

"We fixed the boat quickly in the Philippines to a state where we would be able to sail it to Singapore. We are happy with the delivery, we sailed mostly downwind, so it was easy on the boat. We spent four days in Singapore to get the boat ready for the shipping, and tomorrow (Tuesday) we are going to prepare for loading it onto the ship," he said. "It's disappointing to miss this leg. It's the big one, and was a dream for many of us to do this section of the race."

The Telefonica Black crew will re-group in Spain and continue fitness training ashore, while the technical team works with engineers from the Farr design office to prepare for the repairs on the boat when it arrives in Rio.

Image: Gustav Morin / Ericsson Racing Team / Volvo Ocean Race