Race leader Ericsson 4 and the other six contenders for the prestigious Volvo Ocean Race on Sunday left Singapore on the tough passage to the Chinese port of Qingdao, which they are expected to reach at the end of the month.

Ericsson 4, hoping to consolidate its lead in the race, was in first position as it headed out of the Singapore Strait with PUMA Ocean Racing trailing behind and Green Dragon clinging on to third spot.

The fourth leg of the race to Qingdao is possibly the toughest in terms of weather conditions with the crews having to contend with potentially tricky winds and sea currents on their passage across the South China Sea.

"It will be uncomfortable and really, really rough weather but we have to do it," said Telefonica Blue helmsman Jordi Calafat whose team are lying in second place in the overall standings behind Ericsson 4 after the third stage from Kochi, India, to Singapore.

"We have no option. We are just thinking about arriving in China not about winning," he said.

Fritz Koek, who had a last minute call to join the Delta Lloyd crew as navigator, said he expected the weather to be challenging but was looking forward to the race.

"I was worried about whether to do it or not but now I am nervous and excited," he said.

Neal McDonald, watch captain for the Green Dragon team, was also expecting conditions to turn tricky at some stage of the journey to Qingdao.

"The danger is not so much being swept overboard like it is in the Southern Ocean. It is bashing the boats to bits," said McDonald whose Green Dragon team are in fifth position in the overall standings.

"These boats are not designed to go upwind for any length of time in 40 knots so there will have to be some slowing down at times which is always tricky," he said.

The seven crews left Singapore shortly after 0500 GMT on Monday and are expected to arrive at Qingdao around Jan 30.

Before 04:30 GMT yesterday, the top three, PUMA, Telefonica Blue and Ericsson 4 were separated by just three miles on distance to finish and Bekking's "break" to the north puts the Blue boat less than 10 miles north of the others.

Similarly, Ericsson 3, Telefonica Black and Delta Lloyd were all but within hailing distance of each other.

Perhaps it shouldn't be surprising the fleet remains so bunched up. True wind speeds, as reported in the Data Center, vary by just one knot (14 to 15 knots) across the fleet at 04:00 GMT yesterday morning.

PUMA media man Rick Deppe may have said it best in his latest dispatch from il Mostro: "Not much change onboard il Mostro so far today...We are still beating across the South China Sea in 16 knots of wind where we find ourselves a couple of miles ahead of Ericsson 4 and the rest of the fleet, all heading NE towards the Phillipines...".

(Agencies via China Daily January 21, 2009)