Team Sanya led the fleet out of Auckland and into a likely battering from the weather en route to the Southern Ocean, as Leg 5 to Itajaí got underway with the second half of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 completely open.

Auckland skipper Mike Sanderson enjoyed a dream start to the leg as his underdog Sanya outfit led the fleet around the inshore course on his home waters.

Sanya smoked their five rivals off the start line, enjoying better breeze in a commanding position to round the first mark ahead of Ian Walker’s Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing.

PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG followed them around the televised section, followed by Team Telefónica, CAMPER with Emirates Team Zealand and Groupama sailing team.

With 6,700 nautical miles of ocean racing ahead of them, no team will be placing any significance on the leaving positions, especially with such a trial by the elements in prospect.

According to race meteorologist Gonzalo Infante a low pressure system to the north east of Auckland is set to intensify as it moves towards the colder waters of the Southern Ocean.

“It’s a heat machine right now,” Infante said. “As it interacts with the cooler air off New Zealand it could generate some big winds — 30 knots up to maybe even 50 or 60 knots.”

PUMA skipper Ken Read said keeping the boat and the crew in one piece was the top priority, with gales likely in the first few days.

Read added: “It’s going to be boat-breaking and person-breaking weather, and I think the smart will prevail.”

As the leg goes on, the fleet will sail through the notorious Roaring Forties and Furious Fifties where the winds consistently blow above 40 knots and conditions are more than capable of breaking boats.

Three new sailors have been added to the crew lists in Auckland. Anthony Nossiter from Australia is joining Abu Dhabi to replace the outgoing Justin Ferris, while just for this leg Finnish Olympic gold medal winner Thomas Johanson takes over from injured Kelvin Harrap on PUMA and Danish Olympic gold medallist Martin Kirketerp steps in on Sanya for Ryan Houston who has a kidney infection.

 

With the weather forecast to batter the fleet in the opening day of the leg, it will be a baptism of fire for the new crewmembers.

“Right now all our focus is on the weather forecast, which looks absolutely diabolical for the first 36 hours,” said Ian Walker, skipper of fifth-placed Abu Dhabi. “We just have to prepare our boat and our people as best we can.”

Despite having three leg wins and two in-port victories under their belt, Iker Martínez’s Team Telefónica sit just 15 points clear at the top of the overall leaderboard, with less than 40 points separating the top four boats and fifth-placed Abu Dhabi still determined to fight their way back into the reckoning.

And as the 39,000 nautical mile race hits its mid-point with Leg 5 to Itajaí in Brazil, with more than half the points still to be awarded, it is anyone’s to win.

“The door has always been open for any team to win,” Martínez said. “The teams are very close and there will be some more boats winning legs for sure.”

CAMPER, currently ranked third overall behind Telefónica and Groupama, started the leg riding the high of victory on home waters in Saturday’s In-Port Race.

And with just 18 points separating them from the leaders, skipper Chris Nicholson said his team were still very much in the race.

“It’s still well and truly game on,” he said. “I see the future for the overall podium results for this leg as wide open — as wide open now as they were in Alicante.”

“I’ve been watching this race since 1981 and never before got this far and not really known what’s going to happen going forward,” added Sanderson whose sixth-placed Sanya are showing their best form of the race.

After second place finishes in Leg 4 and the Auckland In-Port Race, PUMA are also on a roll – but skipper Ken Read, who skippered PUMA to third place in the Southern Ocean leg of the 2008-09 event, said keeping the boat and the crew in one piece was the top priority.

“Quite frankly this is not a leg to be talking about wins and losses right now,” he said. “It’s pretty easy to talk tough but the reality is this is not the most hospitable part of the world and we have to make sure we’re smart.”

Leg 5 is expected to take around 18 days to complete.

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Local heroes CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand stormed to victory in front of tens of thousands of ecstatic home fans in the Auckland In-Port Race on Saturday, giving them a first Volvo Ocean Race victory and ‘flicking a switch’ on their campaign.

Chris Nicholson’s men produced a dominant performance on the waters of Waitemata Harbour, taking the lead on the sprint to the first mark thanks to their decision to tack way out to shore and out of the strongest current, and then refusing to let go.

Fifty-four seconds after they heard the gun – and huge cheers from the crowd — PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG crossed the line in second place ahead of Groupama sailing team following a terrific battle for the podium positions.

Behind them, Auckland-born skipper Mike Sanderson was also celebrating as Team Sanya finished the race in fourth, having out-manoeuvred Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing in fifth and overall race leaders Team Telefónica in sixth.

Tens of thousands of people lined Auckland’s shoreline and packed hundreds of spectator boats to watch Auckland’s first Volvo Ocean Race action in 10 years – and a win for CAMPER, the Spanish-sponsored team who count Auckland as one of their two home ports, made the day all the more special.

“The one thing we said all week is how do we thank everyone who has supported us and I hope this goes a long way to doing it,” said CAMPER’s Australian skipper Chris Nicholson as his team moved back to within 18 points of the leaders. “It’s been a huge week of support and it’s helped.

“Now we’ve flicked the switch and we want this on the next leg.”

PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG got off to a flying start leading the boats over the line in 15-20 knots of easterly breeze but by the first turning mark CAMPER had snuck in front.

Groupama moved up into second but PUMA clawed their way back on the second upwind leg, overtaking Franck Cammas’ men to claim second and bank a vital five points.

“It was a lot of fun,” said PUMA skipper Ken Read. “We had a good start but CAMPER got the first shift and that’s all they needed.”

With Telefónica picking up just one point for sixth place, their stronghold on the overall leaderboard weakened.

“We had a pretty bad race,” said Telefónica skipper Iker Martínez. “We didn’t sail well, so it was a headache for us. It was pretty difficult. We didn’t have much room to play with out there.”

Groupama moved to within 15 points of the overall leaders as they took home four points from the in-port race.

“Third is not so bad,” said Cammas. “We had a problem with the keel which lost us the 20-second advantage which we had over PUMA and PUMA took advantage well to overtake us. But apart from that we are happy with the race.”

Team Sanya scored their best result since the Iberdrola In-Port Race in Alicante, the first competitive racing of the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race.

“That was awesome,” said Sanya’s local boy Sanderson. “We’re just so stoked to be in the race but that was one step better because we had a couple of boats behind us.”

The fleet now faces its biggest challenge yet when they set sail from Auckland at 1400 local time on Sunday – the Southern Ocean.

The 6,705 nautical mile sprint around Cape Horn and on to Itajaí in Brazil will see the teams dodging icebergs and huge storms.

“The Southern Ocean is a fearsome place and deserves a great deal of respect,” said Telefónica watch captain Neal McDonald. “Climbing Everest is not particularly risk free or glamorous but people want to do it for the challenge and it’s the same with the Southern Ocean.”

Waves of 12 metres and winds of up to 60 knots are forecast and teams will use night-vision goggles to try to spot icebergs at night.

Three new sailors join the fleet for Leg 5. Anthony Nossiter from Australia is joining Abu Dhabi to replace the outgoing trimmer/helmsman Justin Ferris, Finnish Olympic gold medal winner Thomas Johanson takes over for the leg from injured Kelvin Harrap on PUMA and Danish Olympic gold medallist Martin Kirketerp steps up for Leg 5 on Sanya for Ryan Houston who picked up a kidney infection.

The Leg 5 start will be broadcast live from 1400 local time (0100 UTC) on Sunday. The leg should take the fleet around 17 days to complete.

Watch the action live at www.volvooceanrace.com or at the race’s Livestream page HERE. Coverage starts 15 minutes prior to the leg start.

Auckland In-Port Race results:

CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand (60min 38sec) 6pts
PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG (+0:54) 5pts
Groupama sailing team (+1:26) 4pts
Team Sanya (+2:20) 3pts
Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (+2:52) 2 pts
Team Telefónica (+3:27) 1 pts

 

 

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PUMA CLINCH SECOND PLACE AFTER MIGHTY THREE-WAY TUSSLE

PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG won an epic battle for second place on Leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race on Sunday, clinching the runner’s up spot on a rainy morning in Auckland to complete a memorable comeback and secure their first offshore podium place in 2011-12.

Team Telefónica followed them in just under 50 minutes later for third after holding off CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand in a scrap that continued gybe-for-gybe all the way to the finish line.

Just around 93 seconds separated Telefónica, winners of the first three legs, and CAMPER — a tiny margin after a leg that took the teams over 5,220 nautical miles from Sanya in China to the sailing-mad city of Auckland in New Zealand.

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing came in just under 34 minutes later for fifth, with Team Sanya the sixth boat in just over 35 minutes after that.

“I don’t really know what we could have done better to improve our position,” said Abu Dhabi skipper Ian Walker. “We got up to third place at one point. It was disappointing to finish fifth and now it’s time for some downwind sailing.”

Thousands of fans jammed into spectator craft to welcome the boats in and thousands more packed Auckland Viaduct Harbour after a drag race through the churning water completed a fantastic set of arrivals to mark the race’s return to the city after a gap of 10 years.

“My God, I feel good to be in Auckland,” said PUMA’s American skipper Ken Read after the team had received a traditional Maori welcome into the harbour.

“From day one of this leg, ever since we sailed into the South China Sea, it’s been tough. I know that’s what we signed up for but man this was a challenging leg. This result is something we can build on. We just wish we had a couple more weeks to hang around in Auckland.”

While Groupama sailing team were making a triumphant entry into the City of Sails on Saturday night, PUMA were nursing a slim advantage over the pack, with just 40 nautical miles separating the five boats as a tense, tactical race for the best way to play the currents and to avoid wind holes raged through the night.

PUMA managed to protect their lead, coming in at 10:33:47 UTC for a total elapsed time of 20 days 3 hours 57 minutes over the two stages of Leg 4, which began back on February 19 in Sanya, China with a short race around the bay and a delay to keep the fleet from the worst of the conditions in the South China Sea.

Telefónica now lead the overall standings with 121 points despite losing their perfect record offshore. Groupama have 103 points and take over second place from CAMPER, now back in third on 98, with PUMA fourth on 78.

“It’s a really good result,” said Telefónica skipper Iker Martínez. “The level is so high that to get on the podium is very difficult. The teams are so strong.”

CAMPER skipper Chris Nicholson was not too downhearted after just failing to overtake Telefónica in a race that was as close as their run in to the finish in the Maldives on Leg 2.

“It was a really close race but we just ran out of runway at the end,” said Nicholson, whose CAMPER team count Auckland as one of their two base ports. “It was the toughest leg so far. Now we’re really tired and we’re just looking forward to being home.”

Sunday’s result confirms that PUMA are back in business after the broken mast that saw them forced to retire from Leg 1, and gave them little time to prepare for Leg 2.

Second place into Auckland marks their first podium finish in an offshore leg and it came courtesy of a terrific comeback.

They started the leg with a 39 minute deficit after being hit by a windless patch while leading on Stage 1 and watching the fleet sail past them. It looked like ill luck was set to stay with them as they were forced on a more and more northerly course.

Their strategy worked, bringing them back in touch with the fleet after days of ever more lonely sailing towards Japan, before Groupama took control in a strong easterly position on day seven.

CAMPER hopes of challenging for the lead suffered a devastating blow when they tore their vital J2 headsail, losing 60 miles to Groupama in the process, and it became increasingly clear that this was all about the race for second.

The three boats behind Groupama stayed neck and neck all the way through to the finish, as behind them Abu Dhabi and Sanya closed the gap significantly.

Sanya, stranded 393 nm off the pace on day 17, were within 30 nm of PUMA by the final morning — not quite close enough to challenge for a podium place but satisfied to have been part of a terrific scrap.

“It’s very cool to be home and to have everyone out supporting us,” said New Zealand native Sanderson. “I couldn’t be any more proud of the leg we sailed. The fact that we kept up with and finished so close to the new boats just shows that we can be competitive.”

Leg 4
11/03/2012 0:57:25 UTC
DTL     DTLC     BS     DTF
1             GPMA     FIN     019d 15h 35m 54s
2             PUMA     FIN     020d 03h 57m 50s
3             TELE     FIN     020d 04h 45m 22s
4             CMPR     FIN     020d 04h 46m 55s
5             ADOR     FIN     020d 05h 20m 35s
6             SNYA     FIN     020d 05h 55m 43s
Overall         Leg 4     Total
1             Team Telefónica     20     121
2             Groupama Sailing Team     30     103
3             CAMPER with Emirates Team NZ     15     98
4             PUMA Ocean Racing by BERG     25     78
5             Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing     10     53
6             Team Sanya     5     22

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The fleet crossed the equator this Friday morning, but the danger zone is still in front of the six VO-70s. Indeed the Doldrums may not appear to be too developed, but they are lying in wait for them at the approach to the Melanesian archipelagos and the navigators will have to avoid cutting too tight a line near the islands, where the wind is very disturbed by the effects of convection. In the meantime, Groupama 4 has not only managed to hold onto her lead, but she’s also managed to get even further East than her rivals.
There was some concern at noon on Thursday when the tradewinds really began to drop away and especially when the squalls joined the playing field, causing very violent shifts in the north-easterly system, both in terms of strength and direction. Fortunately though, Franck Cammas and his men were able to quickly get back on the road which leads to the Coral Sea, between the island of San Cristobal (to the East of the Solomon archipelago) and the island of Nendo to the East (to the North of the Vanuatu archipelago). Though the breeze is now kicking out between 12 and 16 knots, it has also shifted round to the ESE (100°-110°), which is working against Groupama 4′s pursuers, and the boats further West in particular (Telefonica, Camper and Sanya).

Red zone

This touchdown on the large volcanic and coral arc which stretches from New Guinea to New Zealand, passing through the islands of Bismarck, Bougainville, Solomon, Vanuatu and New Caledonia, is a zone full of pitfalls. Indeed it marks the transition between the Pacific High and the lows of the area around Papua New Guinea and Australia. These pitfalls include the isobaric gradient which is pretty low, the Coriolis effect, which diverts the flow of air to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere and has little influence near the equator, as well as the large number of land masses, some of which are high and cause vortexes. As such it’s extremely hard to predict the true situation more than half a day ahead and the local effects may only affect a zone spanning a few dozen miles…

“I’ve got my fingers crossed for this third passage through the Doldrums: all you need is one bad squall to lose a huge amount of ground as the experience of our previous two equators has shown. The latest system appears less screwy but, with these islands in the mix, things may be affected by convection, which doesn’t show up on the grib files… After that, there are some strategic choices to be had, particularly around New Caledonia, since there will be a disturbance to the North of New Zealand. The last three days of racing aren’t easy and we’ll have to line ourselves up nicely in relation to this depression, which we don’t yet know how it will affect the fleet. Furthermore we may well round off with breezy downwind conditions or a lighter reaching wind, as the models have yet to come to an agreement on that one. We’ve traced a positive trajectory since setting out from Sanya. And even though there haven’t been a lot of options up for grabs, we’ve rarely been in difficulty as we’ve nicely negotiated the evolution of the weather. I hope that we’ll have the same clairvoyance and the same success up to the finish!” commented Franck Cammas.

Blue zone

This Friday the fleet has split into two groups, which are going to be striving to get as far away from the island of San Cristobal as possible (to the East of the Solomon archipelago): as such Groupama 4, Puma and Abu Dhabi are the best positioned to aim for the middle of this strait some 180 miles offshore. Telefonica, Camper and Sanya (between 180 and 200 miles to the West of the top trio), will find it a lot tougher to enter this passage, which is now only 500 miles ahead (two days at sea) and they have the possibility of two options. Either they can begin to sail closer to the wind, thus losing speed, so as to reposition themselves in the wake of the eastern group with a delta which could then exceed 200 miles, or they could take the risk of traversing the Solomon archipelago by slipping between Malaita and Guadalcanal, or going even further West between the islands of Choiseul and Santa Isabel!

The danger there is that may end up in the blue `parking’ zone, where they might be parked up for a while depending on how much current they run up against: the `toll’ could cost them very dear, as there would be more than 200 miles through which to run the gauntlet in this zone, with high levels of evaporation between the highly wooded land masses and a very hot sea… As such there’s a lot of convection at play in this zone, where cumulonimbus tend to form and `suck away’ the surrounding wind and shed great torrents of water on the area below them. The phenomenon is all the more pronounced at daybreak and at sunrise and the further the boats are from land, the less they’ll suffer the effects of convection.

Green zone

Early this weekend, the easterly tradewinds will gradually ease the further South the boats get and there is only likely to be around ten knots of breeze as they approach the archipelagos from Sunday (local time). Interestingly, Groupama 4 are likely to be further favoured by the fact that the prevailing breeze will be easterly, whilst it will be south-easterly offshore of the Solomon Islands. With a tighter angle to the wind, those boats in the West will find it increasingly hard to close down the lateral separation and it’s likely that they’ll be forced to traverse this `green zone’ of equatorial islands. Clearly the hypothesis is not designed to appeal to the navigators and crews, who will have to constantly have their eye on the radar to anticipate the squalls and make frequent manoeuvres to adapt the sail area…

This rainbow of zones (there are also likely to be some sublime colours over the next few days) look to be offering Franck Cammas and his men a good opportunity to shake off their pursuers, especially the Spanish, the New Zealanders and the Chinese. Let’s not kid ourselves though: the first to enter the “subequatorial turbulence zone” midway through the weekend will be Groupama 4, so we must expect a compression of the fleet in terms of distance to the finish. As such the 70-mile lead over the Americans will gradually melt away, but Puma would have quite a way to go before outmanoeuvring them!

Position of the competitors in the Volvo Ocean Race on the fourth leg from Sanya – Auckland at 1300 UTC on 02/03/2012

1. Groupama 4 some 2,256.50 miles from the finish
2. Puma – 70.10 miles astern of the leader
3. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing – 110.20 miles astern of the leader
4. Telefonica – 110.90 miles astern of the leader
5. Camper – 131.90 miles astern of the leader
6. Team Sanya – 193.80 miles astern of the leader

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The very northerly course adopted by the Volvo Ocean Race fleet is somewhat surprising! Still in the wake of the New Zealanders, Groupama 4 is not closing on the goal: over 100° from the usual heading and 300 miles above the direct route… However, there’s no other way out just now: you have to gain ground to the North-East to latch back onto the normal monsoon system.

“We’re in a state of uncertainty because the weather models aren’t very clear! As such we’re having to make do with the wind we have. This Thursday morning for example, we’ve had 25-30 knots of south-westerly wind, which wasn’t forecast at all. It’s very complicated to form a strategy as it’s likely that the island of Taiwan, which has some sizeable land masses, has severely disrupted the monsoon. As such there is very little isobaric gradient right the way around. Gradually, between now and Friday evening, we’re going to shift our course round towards New Zealand, but prior to that, we’ll have to link back up with a steady air flow. We are beneath the tropics and fortunately the skies are overcast, which isn’t unpleasant as it’s very hot. However, we’re making the most of it to recover from the fatigue of the South China Sea, because it was very difficult to sleep with messy waves since we left Sanya,” explained Charles Caudrelier at noon this Thursday.

Letters from Iwo Jima

It’s towards this island lost in the middle of the North Pacific that the bows are currently heading: Iwo Jima was one of the last points of entrenchment of the Empire of the Rising Sun’s army back in February 1945 when battling against the American armada. This confetti of Japanese islands marks the western limit of the anticyclone responsible for dishing out easterly tradewinds… For the time being, it’s the islands of Ishigaki which the fleet will have to negotiate, followed by the Okinawa archipelago, which is sure to mark the breaking point in this rather atypical course. As such, there are still nearly 300 miles to go with the wind on the nose for Franck Cammas and his men. Groupama 4, which has really cut a dash through the tricky passage to the South of Taiwan, is managing to keep up with the steady pace set by Camper, which is the true leader given the route imposed by the weather.

“There was a lot of current in the South China Sea and I dread to think what it must be like when there’s 40 knots of wind! Right now, we’re not doing too badly as the boat hasn’t suffered any damage and we’re happy with our positioning as we prepare to launch into a long session of reaching in 24 to 30 hours’ time. Right now, to the great despair of our New Zealanders onboard, we’re distancing ourselves from Auckland… However, there’s no way out from the direct route which passes close to the Philippines as there’s very little wind in this zone: as such our goal is to latch onto the easterly tradewinds which are blowing a long way offshore of Taiwan and for now we’re still on a beat to the North-East on starboard tack.”

No man’s sea…

Around the Luzon Strait the situation is very complicated as the light southerly airs aren’t managing to hold their own, transforming the direct course into a no-through road. The Spanish tried to close on it last night, but quickly understood that this solitary option was going to hit a wall. Their move to reposition themselves in the North caused them to cross paths with the Americans, who have really made a great comeback after their delayed departure from China. However, just ten miles shy of Sanya and Abu Dhabi, Telefonica and Puma got trapped by a windless zone for a good hour. Ken Read managed to hotfoot it North but Iker Martinez took a lot longer to extract himself from the resulting gloop! As such nobody’s going to tempt fate with a course near the Philippines now so the routing is taking the crews towards Japan instead…

Taiwan has witnessed the fracturing of the fleet then and though the boats are heading roughly the same way, they’re now split into four groups: Camper is sticking to her guns in her position as true leader, very gradually extending her lead in relation to her direct rival, Groupama 4, which is proving to be a little less at ease sailing into the wind, but is still keeping her hand in thanks to her position to windward of the New Zealanders. Abu Dhabi and Sanya (polled as leaders because they’re closer to the finish) are in reality around fifty miles to the South-West of Camper, whilst Puma is continuing to strike out on her own along the coast of the Republic of China, formerly known as Nationalist China, but now commonly referred to as Taiwan. As for Telefonica, she’s in a rather difficult patch which could cost her very dearly for the next stage of the race… As such this is a very important stage of the race being played out this Thursday evening and we’ll have to wait till the weekend to have a clearer idea of the true hierarchy at the end of this Luzon lesson: there’s no Supreme Leader just a guiding line!

Position of the competitors in the Volvo Ocean Race on the fourth leg from Sanya – Auckland at 1600 UTC on 23/02/2012

1. Team Sanya 4,614 miles from the finish
2. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing – 3.5 miles astern of the leader
3. Groupama 4 – 11.4 miles astern of the leader
4. Camper – 20.2 miles astern of the leader
5. Telefonica – 40.4 miles astern of the leader
6. Puma – 107.5 miles astern of the leader

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 Fierce conditions and the potential for more breakages will be on the minds of all six teams as they gear up for a return to competitive action with the Sanya Haitang Bay In-Port Race on February 18 and the start of Leg 4 to Auckland, New Zealand the next day. Saturday’s in-port starts at 1400 local time (0600 UTC) with near perfect winds and flat seas forecast for the 60 minute inshore course. The predicted conditions for Sunday’s Leg 4 start are in stark contrast with fierce monsoon winds kicking up a punishing sea state likely to give the fleet its toughest test to date as they funnel their way between Taiwan and the Philippine island of Luzon on the way to New Zealand. Race leaders Team Telefónica opted to miss today’s practice race to swap out their rigging after a routine check revealed a problem. The Spanish team’s decision ultimately cost them little in lost training time when light winds forced the abandonment of the practice race. Telefónica skipper Iker Martínez said the team were being cautious because of the forecast of strong winds and the fact that two boats lost their masts during Leg 1. “We want to be super safe,” he said. “We found something that we didn’t like much so we’ve decided to replace the rigging for the next leg, and we have a spare rig here that we’ve used already and we’re very confident with.” Race meteorologist Gonzalo Infante is forecasting a monsoon to develop to the north of Taiwan resulting in north easterly winds of between 35 and 40 knots across the South China Sea over the weekend. Infante says Sanya Bay’s protection from the north east monsoon by mountains should mean conditions for the in-port race will be perfect with moderate winds and flat seas. Offshore it will be a very different story when the fleet sets off for Auckland the following day, potentially requiring the teams to resort to survival techniques to protect their boats from the huge waves. “Now only a very small area in the centre of the South China Sea is affected by big waves – from six to eight metres,” he said. “However, as we get closer to the start date, the affected area will grow until by Saturday the whole South China Sea will be affected by this sea state.” Team Telefónica take a 15-point lead over Chris Nicholson’s CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand into this weekend’s resumption of racing and will be keen to consolidate this with a repeat of their in-port race winning form in Cape Town before the start of Leg 2. Second placed CAMPER are yet to register a victory but according to team managing director Grant Dalton a strong performance on Saturday is vital if they are to close the gap on Telefónica. “First of all, we have to stop bleeding points inshore,” Dalton said. “We’ve bled enough offshore, we have to stop bleeding them inshore. “If Telefónica keep on going the way they are, we’re not going to beat them, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to work that out.” Dalton, who won the race himself in 1981-82 and 1993-94, said the fourth leg to Auckland, which the Spanish-sponsored team counts as one of two bases, was also providing motivation. “Auckland is important for two reasons,” he said. “It’s important because there’s so much history of titanic struggles into Auckland — the last three races I did we were never more than a couple of minutes apart the whole way – and it’s important for some of the guys because they’re coming home. “It’s both pressure and motivation. You’re motivated to sit on the rail for the last two and a half days if you have to.”

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PUMA skipper Ken Read launched a surprise tactical gamble on Wednesday that could take the Leg 3 fight all the way to the wire, with the American taking his team offshore just as Telefónica led the main fleet towards the coast of Vietnam.

In a calculated risk taken with the team’s need for points in mind, Read defied conventional wisdom by investing in a position around 150 nautical miles to the east of the fleet as the race to Sanya in China enters a fraught final phase.

The move relegated PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG to fifth in the leg standings with less than 800 nautical miles to go as the rest of the leaders headed north towards Vietnam, the more traditional route.

With the other teams preparing for a 35-knot upwind battering, PUMA were banking on kinder winds, less tide and a better sea state to put them in contention for their first leg win. Success in the leg would also see them make vital gains on the overall race leaderboard where they currently lie in fourth place, 35 points behind Telefónica.

“It’s a case of make or break really,” said PUMA helmsman Jonathan Swain. “We’ve seen an opportunity which we can possibly capitalise on so we decided to take it. We were in line with the two leading boats but we decided to take an opportunity and try to win this thing. Looking at the scoreboard right now we had to do something, and here’s the opportunity to do it.

“There’s only three days left, only 800 miles left. We had two possibilities: one going up the coast of Vietnam hard on the wind and against the tide, and the other going further east and coming in to Sanya on a better angle with favourable current. It was a really tough decision to make for the navigator and skipper but this is the course we’ve chosen and so now we’re hoping it pans out for us.”

Swain said it would only be clear whether their move had worked in the dying moments of the leg.

“It’s going to be nail-biting,” he said. “It’s very stressful on board because we’re not seeing gains straight away.”

At the front of the pack, Groupama sailing team continued their persistent hounding of Team Telefónica, which saw them at times get to within one mile of the leaders.

“We were so close to overtaking Telefónica at least three times,” said Groupama helmsman Erwan Israël. “It really was a matter of one metre. This race is of incredible intensity — each metre is crucial. We gave everything.

At 1300 UTC the gap between the leading pair was up to seven nautical miles, but Israël said their fight was far from over.

“Now the game is more open,” he said. “The racecourse is larger and the boats are going in every direction. That’s offshore sailing. We are on the western side and are looking forward to see what happens next.”

CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand moved up to third place closing the gap to Telefónica to less than 40nm. Co-skipper Stu Bannatyne said his team, well trained in heavy weather upwind sailing, were waiting for their moment to strike as the finish line neared.

“Hopefully we can just chip away and gain a bit here and there and get close enough for a crack on the final sprint in to the finish in Sanya,” he said.

Ian Walker’s Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing faced a nerve-wracking 48 hours as they sailed into tough conditions akin to those which saw their yacht Azzam dismasted within six hours of the Leg 1 start.

“I would be lying if I said I was not worried about our mast and rigging, but all the signs are that things should be OK,” Walker said. “The big test will be when we go for the heavy weather jib and two reefs in the mainsail for the first time in anger since stepping this spare mast back in December.”

Team Sanya were just over 250nm behind the leg leaders at 1300 UTC having pulled back two nm in the three hours prior to the report.

“We would love to pick off a couple of boats and we are always looking for opportunities back here,” said watch captain Richard Mason. “In reality that would mean a breakdown or gear failure on one of the other boats. This morning we had our bowman up the rig checking all the fittings ahead of the heavy weather. There’s a point at which you stop racing and start surviving and that’s about 35 knots.”

Team Sanya will receive full Leg 3 points when they finish at their home port, as they were unable to take part in Stage 1 because of a rigging problem, while the other five teams who successfully completed the first stage of Leg 3 will receive 80 per cent of the points for completing the second stage.

Report: 01/02/2012 13:03:36 UTC
  DTL DTLC BS DTF
1   TELE 0.00  0 12 665.7
2   GPMA 7.00  0 11.8 672.7
3   CMPR 39.10  0 12.2 704.8
4   ADOR 76.00  0 12.4 741.7
5   PUMA 118.40  4 10.3 784.1
6   SNYA 256.80  2 7.9 922.5

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Hometown heroes Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing claimed their second inshore victory on Friday, winning the Etihad Airways In-Port Race in front of thousands of ecstatic local supporters.

Abu Dhabi, who take six points for a dream victory in front of their home fans, were followed by Groupama sailing team in second and CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand in the third podium place. PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG were fourth, followed by overall race leaders Team Telefónica in fifth.

Watch the full Etihad Airways In-Port Race replay in HD on  YouTube .

“We so wanted to win the race so we were prepared to take risks,” said Abu Dhabi skipper Ian Walker. “We knew if we could win it would be very special for everyone.

“I want to thank everyone here for their support. Everyone has been wishing us luck in the in-port race during the stopover and there were so many people in the village and out on the water cheering us on.

“We’re involved in a nine-month odyssey round the world but today is the most important day for Abu Dhabi. We have never seen this many boats out on the water to watch racing, and there are lots of people out who are new to sailing. Right now all they are seeing is their country flag being waved. It’s a real thrill for that to happen.”

PUMA led the fleet off the start line, but a port and starboard infringement on Telefónica soon after resulted in a penalty turn that cost them dearly. CAMPER made massive gains on the right hand side of the downwind course, but it was home favourites Abu Dhabi who came in from the left to take the lead at the first mark.

Abu Dhabi secured a 30-second jump over the fleet on the first 1.4 nautical mile run, but lost their lead in a port/starboard encounter midway through the second leg when they were forced to dip Groupama’s stern. The close-quarters upwind battle continued, with Abu Dhabi regaining the lead shortly before the second mark.

At the third mark, after just a few minutes reaching, Abu Dhabi led Groupama by 38 seconds, followed by CAMPER, PUMA and Telefónica, who slipped to last after a problematic second mark rounding.

Abu Dhabi’s Azzam consolidated their lead as the fleet started the second lap of the eight-plus mile course in a southerly breeze gusting to around seven knots. The locals held their lead for the remainder of the race, when with fists pumping on board they crossed the line after just under an hour’s racing.

No one was more thrilled than Azzam’s local sailor Adil Khalid, the first Emirati to compete in the Volvo Ocean Race, who waved the flag of the United Arab Emirates as they finished.

“I am so pleased with this win here in Abu Dhabi,” Khalid said. “The stopover has been wonderful and this is a great result for us as a team in our home port.”

A touch of royalty joined the fleet, with His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, Duke of York and Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan racing on board Azzam. Prince Andrew, standing beside Walker as Azzam crossed the line, gave the British skipper a congratulatory pat on the back.

Thousands of spectators lined the shores of Abu Dhabi and hundreds more, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, took front row seats on board spectator boats, as the fleet battled the third of 10 in-port races, which account for around 20 per cent of all points.

The more than 4,000 nautical mile Leg 3 race to Sanya will start on Saturday, with the first stage race from Abu Dhabi to a point off the Sharjah coast getting underway at 1400 local time, 1000 UTC/GMT. Early forecasts are tipping fresh north-west winds of 13 to 16 knots inshore, building to 18 to 22 kts offshore.

1. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing 6 points
2. Groupama sailing team 5
3. CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand 4
4. PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG 3
5. Team Telefonica 2
6. Team Sanya DNS*

Overall:

1. Team Telefonica 68
2. CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand 62
3. Groupama sailing team 47
4. PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG 31
5. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing 25
6. Team Sanya 4*

* Team Sanya can still score points for Leg 2 and the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi In-Port Race if they complete Stage 1 in racing conditions.

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