Spain's Telefonica Blue wins third stage of Volvo yachting Race

Spanish yacht Telefonica Blue won the third stage of the Volvo Ocean Race around the world from Kochi, India to Singapore, snatching the lead from Sweden's Ericsson 4 as the boats headed for the finish.
The US entry Puma Ocean Racing grabbed second place, just ahead of the all Nordic crew of Ericsson 3. Race favourite Ericsson 4 came fourth.
Telefonica Blue, skippered by Dutch veteran Bouwe Bekking, arrived in Singapore at 10:51 pm local time (1451 GMT) to win the stage of 1,950 nautical miles.
The victory kept it in second place in the overall standings, but closed the gap on the event's leader Ericsson 4.
The Spanish yacht manoeuvred the Strait of Malacca, where navigation is difficult, to pass the then leader Ericsson 4, skippered by Brazil's Olympic gold medallist Torben Grael.
"We kept our heads cool today, and as predicted it wasn't over until close to the finish," said Bekking.
"We had all the excitement in the last 50 miles, dodging fishing nets, zig-zagging around tugboats, hundreds of commercial ships, and then the wind which was ranging from 20 knots to nearly zero.
"A real test for all the guys' minds, as our nice advantage over the others nearly vanished, but we pulled it off and all the guys did a marvelous job."
Three other yachts -- Spain's Telefonica Black, the Chinese-Irish entry Green Dragon and Team Russia -- arrived early Tuesday morning in Singapore.
The last team in the race, Delta Lloyd, was scheduled to arrive early Wednesday morning, according to navigator Matthew Gregory.
"We are limping home. We are about 20 hours from the finish line with an expected eta (estimated time of arrival) in the dawn hours on the 24th," he said.
The team fell behind after their keel's hydraulic ram system was damaged during the race.
Teams are to leave Singapore on January 18 for Qingdao, China on the fourth stage of the event.
The race, one of the most arduous in sport, will end in St Petersburg, Russia, in June after nine months negotiating 10 stages over 37,000 nautical miles at sea.
Positions on the third stage at 0420 GMT Tuesday:
1. Telefonica Blue (ESP)/Bouwe Bekking (NED) arrived in Singapore at 14h51 GMT Monday
2. Puma Ocean Racing (USA)/Ken Read (USA) arrived
3. Ericsson 3 (SWE)/Anders Lewander (SWE) arrived
4. Ericsson 4 (SWE)/Torben Grael (BRA) arrived
5. Telefonica Black (ESP)/Fernando Echavarri (ESP) arrived
6. Green Dragon (CHN/EIR)/Ian Walker (GBR) arrived
7. Team Russia (RUS)/Andreas Hannakamp (AUT) arrived
8. Delta Lloyd (NED)/Roberto Bermudez (ESP) 140 miles
Overall standings after the third stage (Kochi to Singapore)
1. Ericsson 4 (SWE) 35.0 points
2. Telefonica Blue (ESP) 30.5
3. Puma Ocean Racing (USA) 27.5
4. Ericsson 3 (SWE) 23.5
5. Green Dragon (CHN/EIR) 20.5
6. Telefonica Black (ESP) 19.5
7. Team Russia (RUS) 10.5
8. Delta Lloyd (NED) 8.0