Abu Dhabi Seize Volvo Lisbon Leg

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Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing shrugged off seven months of frustration to secure their first leg victory, narrowly crossing the Lisbon finish line ahead of Groupama sailing team who have now claimed the overall race lead.

Ian Walker’s men crossed the finish line at 21:23:54 UTC, less than six minutes ahead of Groupama, after 12 days racing more than 3,500 nautical miles from Miami, across the Atlantic to Portugal. 

PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG rounded out the podium, finishing third at 23:26:22 UTC.

The closest finish was reserved for Team Telefónica who rallied to claim fourth place just one minute and 42 seconds ahead of CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand, who stalled in the Tagus River’s current just metres from the finish. Team Sanya crossed the line in sixth place at 01:44:25 UTC.

After brief celebrations a visibly emotional Walker spoke to volvooceanrace.com, saying that clinching victory in the leg, which they led from May 26, was one of the greatest moments of his sailing career.

“Do you think you can make the last 10 miles of a race any harder than that,’’ he said.

“It’s a massive relief it was such a tough race. Everyone knows we’re not as quick as some of the other boats so we just had to make up for it in other ways.

“It’s one of the most amazing experiences of my sailing career, that’s for sure. We paced ourselves pretty well, we were even sleeping today.

“We were preparing ourselves for a night in the river if we had to. Mentally, certainly I’m exhausted. It's just such a relief."

Abu Dhabi score 30 points for victory taking their total to 104 points in fifth place overall, while Groupama score 25 taking their score to 183.

The final line-up means Groupama have edged to the top of the overall leaderboard, having finished two places clear of Telefónica, the leaders since the end of Leg 1 in November.

PUMA score 20 points for third place, rounding their total to 171 points and taking them up to third overall. Skipper Ken Read said it was great to be on the podium.

"This is a great result -- it could have been first or last about a million different times,'' Read said. "This is a leg to survive. There’s still a lot of points on the board. To be on the podium is a big deal for us. We’ve come a long way."

Fleet Leaders Head for Lisbon

PHOTO: Nick Dana

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing managed to stem the flow of miles lost to their rivals overnight as the fleet continues its headlong rush across the Atlantic towards Lisbon.

With all six teams’ average speeds hovering around 20 knots during the night, by 0700 UTC this morning Abu Dhabi had 954 nautical miles to run and had locked their lead over second placed PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG to 31 nm.

Further back, the chasing bunch had divided into two finely balanced, head to head scraps, with Groupama and CAMPER both just a jot over 50 nm from the lead in third and fourth, and Team Telefónica and Team Sanya separated by five nautical mile in terms of distance to the finish.

In his latest report from the boat, Abu Dhabi skipper Ian Walker said that despite the increasing pressure from behind and the daunting prospect of protecting their lead through a light air zone in around 24 hours time, the Emirati team remained calm and focused.

“It is business as usual onboard and we have learnt not to let large losses at every position report affect our mood,” Walker said. “There is quite simply nothing we can do about it if the boats behind bring three or more knots more wind up into the back of you.

“Sooner or later they will get close enough to be in more similar wind and then we have to hope we can compete. By then I suspect the wind will be very light and it could be anyone’s game.

Walker said with fast angles, smooth seas and not too many sail changes the sailing conditions were very easy on the crew as they ate up the miles to Lisbon at an average speed of 20 knots.

“Our plan is to rest people up while the going is easy so that we have fully charged batteries for what will certainly be a frantic last 36 hours. If that means everyone on deck then so be it; there will be time to rest in Lisbon.

“If anybody in Miami had offered us even a one mile lead with 1,000 miles to go we would have gladly taken it.

“We may have lost 60 miles in 24 hours to the chasing pack, but we remain closest to Lisbon and we hope to be for some time yet.”

Weather Reduces Abu Dhabi Lead

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s Leg 7 lead was being steadily eroded on Monday, as the chasing pack lined up along an easterly moving cold front bringing strong winds.

Up to 90 nautical miles ahead of their nearest rivals at one point, Ian Walker’s Emirati team have been steadily losing ground as the new weather system whisks the rest of the fleet up to them at average speeds over 20 knots.

That progress could stop suddenly – the boats are positioning themselves for a light wind zone off Lisbon that threatens to throw the leg standings wide open – but for now speeds are high.

At 1300 UTC Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing were 60 nm ahead of second placed PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG and 83 nm in front of CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand in third. Four miles behind CAMPER were Team Sanya who held a three nautical mile lead over Groupama sailing team and Team Telefónica in fifth and sixth.

Telefónica have a seven-point lead over Groupama with three legs to complete, while CAMPER and PUMA are poised respectively 13 and 14 points off the pace.

Despite having to watch the fleet inexorably closing them down with every position report, skipper Ian Walker said the Abu Dhabi crew remained confident of holding on to the lead ahead of what he predicts could be a photo finish in Lisbon.

“So far we have sailed a very good leg and everyone on board is fiercely determined to defend our lead for as long we possibly can,” Walker said.

“As the fleet charges east at ever increasing speeds towards Lisbon we know that it is highly likely that we will give up a lot of our once 90 mile lead to the chasing pack.

“I am not being defeatist, just preparing myself mentally for the fact that those behind will have more wind than us due to the advancing cold front picking everyone up from behind.

“One thing for certain is that there is going to be a very tight finish from first to last place in Lisbon. The weather gods have scripted that.”

PUMA navigator Tom Addis said the building breezes from behind were compressing the fleet rapidly with any one of the chasing boats able to break through to the lead.

“Abu Dhabi are still 80 miles ahead of us, but we’re pulling them in at eight or nine miles every three hours so it’s happening fairly quickly,” Addis said this morning.

“But the guys just south of us also have pretty good breeze right now, so they might get a pretty good break as well. We’ll see how we go. It’s a really difficult one to pick.”

CAMPER have found themselves fighting to hold off a rapidly advancing Sanya, who moved into fourth after a tactical move north yesterday paid dividends.

“It’s very intense,” said navigator Will Oxley. "We’re trying to defend against building breeze from behind, so the boats behind you are in better pressure. We’ve been forced to gybe in front of Sanya, who are visible quite clearly just off our starboard quarter."

Oxley said he believed Leg 7 could ultimately be decided on how well the teams negotiate the light air ridge on the final approach into Lisbon.

“We’re all going to go barrelling in there at high speeds and whoever picks their way through there and gets a bit of luck is going to probably be the one who comes out on top,” he said.

Fifth and sixth placed Groupama and Telefónica remain less than two nautical miles apart in terms of distance to the finish, with both teams fighting hard for a podium position in Lisbon, having picked up increasingly stronger winds in the cold front.

"The wind started to fill in around our last gybe,” said Groupama helmsman Erwan Israël. “We are sailing ahead of the front in 20 to 23 knots of wind and expecting up to 26 knots of wind.

"We kept gybing to get a better angle in the front and stay longer in it. Telefónica gybed a bit later and managed to overtake us. They are controlling us, but now we are in sight of each other and it’s really nice to fight like that.”

Abu Dhabi Build Big Lead Leg 7

Abu Dhabi were building a big lead on Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race on Sunday after beating the fleet to a low pressure system that packs the power to catapult them to within a couple of hundred miles of the finish.

The team skippered by Britain's twice Olympic silver medallist Ian Walker have been bolstered by the misfortune of their rivals, with overall race leaders Team Telefónica and second-placed Groupama sailing team stuck, struggling to find pace in a high pressure system in fifth and fourth respectively.

PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG remain second on Leg 7, trailing the leaders by 48 nautical miles, while CAMPER are third, 60 nm behind. Both are in prime position to take advantage of an upcoming ridge that is expected to compress the fleet.

Meanwhile, Team Sanya are revelling in a return to racing after missing two consecutive legs with damage. The team are well to the back of the fleet but have made the boldest move of all, taking a route north to within 50 nm of the ice exclusion zones in search of better breeze.

The trek north puts Mike Sanderson's team in a position to take advantage of a front that will come from the west, which Volvo meteorologist Gonzalo Infante said could see them gain decent pressure and wind shifts that could even edge them ahead of Telefónica and Groupama.

Infante said a ridge to the east of Abu Dhabi, along with the front that is coming from the west, would see the fleet compress over coming days. He said the boats further north were expected to fare best, meaning the possibility of more troubled times for Groupama and Telefónica, while giving CAMPER and PUMA a chance to catch up.

Despite the various pitfalls Walker said he was confident in his team's course, which had enabled them to race at a 24-hour average speed almost two knots quicker than their closest rivals.

"At the moment conditions look quite good for us to stretch a bit,'' Walker said. "We need to get as far as we can because I think we're going to need every mile to be honest.

"We've had a very good last few days. Jules has done a great job negotiating the Gulf Stream and that set us up to take us round the bottom of the high pressure, and I guess now we're getting the rewards for that.

"We should have good wind now until a couple of hundred miles out from Lisbon when we'll hit a brick wall."

Groupama skipper Franck Cammas is banking on the upcoming ridge putting a halt on the leaders' progress, in hope of keeping his team's winning chances alive.

The disappointed skipper put his team's current position down to a lack of luck and the play-it-safe tactical option to stick with the fleet.

"We didn't take the same option (as Sanya) because it was a 50/50 one and it's less risky to stay with the fleet,'' he said. "Now isn't the time to risk it all."

Cammas is pinning his comeback hopes on the front that will grip the fleet in coming days.

"We hope that the front will reverse things, that the ones behind will come back,'' he said. "That's what I hope for and that's what you can see on the routing models. There is a good opportunity for us to hook it while the fleet will be compressed."

Abu Dhabi Regain Volvo Lead

Volvo Ocean Race

Abu Dhabi have regained the lead as the fleet continue to search for a low that promises to help the “rich get richer”, while CAMPER have slipped to third after an eventful night that included catching one of the world’s oldest reptiles on their keel.

CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand Media Crew Member Hamish Hooper this morning reported that his crew had an unlikely “collision” with a turtle that slowed the red boat’s speed from 13 knots to nine.

Helmsman Roberto Bermudez noticed the deceleration yesterday and sent new crewman Nick Burridge downstairs to the endoscope to investigate, Hooper said.

Burridge soon emerged, scratching his head and saying: “What do you know about turtles? Because I think we’ve caught one with our keel.”

With their hard fought lead at stake the crew went into overdrive to free the reptile.

“The guys on deck sprung into action and had the boat backed down within seconds, turtle free and we were back to normal speed on course again with no significant time or distance lost on the other boats,’’ Hooper said.

The CAMPER crew maintained their lead overnight until 0700 UTC when Abu Dhabi regained the top spot to lead by 10 nautical miles. 

CAMPER were pushed further behind at 1000 UTC, when PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG edged into second. Groupama sailing team also gained a position, moving to fourth, pushing Telefónica into fifth, while Team Sanya remain sixth, 80 nm behind the leaders.

CAMPER helmsman/trimmer Rob Salthouse said the team’s strategy was aimed at getting north, punching through a potentially risky high-pressure system before reaching promising seas.

“We are now trying to work our way north up towards this high, get through the high and into the next low pressure,’’ he said. “If we can do that in good shape it will be the rich get richer, so here is hoping.

Weather Split Could Change Lead

Nick Dana/Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing/

Overall race leaders Team Telefónica extended their Leg 7 advantage to nine nautical miles on Thursday, as a pair of high pressure systems threatened to create a north-south split in the fleet.

However at 1300 UTC both Telefónica and second placed Groupama were being closed down by rapidly charging third and fourth placed Abu Dhabi and PUMA, 18 and 21 nautical miles (nm) behind respectively. Fifth placed CAMPER were the biggest gainers, taking 41 nm out of their distance to lead total. Sixth place team Sanya also closed up significantly, moving to within 66 nm of the lead.

Having missed an opportunity to hook into an easterly moving cold front, the crews now have no option but to head north to swerve around the semi-permanent Azores High weather system, Race meteorologist Gonzalo Infante said.

The split could come as the teams negotiate a new high pressure that is also moving east from Newfoundland, with PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG, CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand and Team Sanya looking more likely to choose the northerly option, skirting closest to the ice exclusion zone put in place by the race organisers.

“They will likely head around the top of the new high, mostly in downwind conditions,” Infante said, adding that Telefónica, Groupama sailing team and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing were more likely to stay south and sail upwind through the bottom of the high before the boats converged again in around five days' time.

Telefónica navigator Andrew Cape said that given the unpredictability of the weather, the Spanish team had been focusing primarily on maximising their boat speed.

“It’s been a funny old weather pattern out here,” Cape said. “It’s been pretty patchy, so we’ve just sailed the boat as hard as we could.

“We did have to do a lot of sail changes. I don’t think there was a watch where there wasn’t a sail change, but the guys are just so keen to do whatever it takes to get to the front and they’ve been rewarded for that. It’s all good news.”

Cape said the coming days could easily undo all their good work but declared himself content with their positioning.

“There’s too many little tricks up ahead to know what’s going to happen but we’ll keep pushing, and we’re very happy,” he said. “It will be very interesting. We’re certainly where we want to be and hopefully it will all come together from here."

Team Sanya watch captain Richard Mason believes the northerly option to be the safest route through the high pressure systems and expects his team to head that way for around a day and a half to avoid the clutches of the light wind zone.

“There was a chance that on the easterly route we’d have been able to nip through the high, but that chance disappeared,” Mason said. “So now we have to find a safe way to get north, wait for the high to redevelop and scoot round the top of it. Anyway, that’s what we think is going to happen.”

Mason said the Sanya crew welcomed the onset of unstable conditions which could give them a chance to steal a march on the fleet from behind.

“It does present plenty of options and we have managed to pull a few miles back on the guys in front which is always heartening,” he said.

“We don’t see the forecast as a problem as such as it creates a lot of opportunities. We just need to pick our way through and turn them to our advantage.

“The guys at the front are constantly looking over their shoulders and will be looking to cover one another. They’re not going to be too worried about us if we go off in a different direction and bang the corner.”

Abu Dhabi skipper Ian Walker said hopes of a direct route to Lisbon had now evaporated with the arrival of the new high pressure from the north.

“It was a dream scenario -- a very direct and downwind route that avoided the ice gates to the north,” Walker said. “Sadly, reality is now being faced by the fleet as we gybe north one by one.

“Ahead of us we face a very light wind high pressure zone to cross, a day of upwind sailing, much colder temperatures and a few more days at sea.”

Walker said there could well be a leg leaderboard reshuffle coming.

“I suspect we could see a real shake up in the standings with some big gains and losses,” he said. “The navigators and skippers will have their hands full as this tricky and rapidly evolving weather unfolds in front of them.

“All of a sudden Lisbon feels a lot further away from us than it did 24 hours ago.”

Latest estimates have the leading boats arriving in Lisbon on or around May 31.

Abu Dhabi Volvo Crew Face Rations

Abu Dhabi Prevent Further Damage

Skipper Ian Walker supervised an incredible five-hour job that saw 30 bolts screwed through the hull of Abu Dhabi’s boat Azzam (which means 'determination' in Arabic) to prevent further damage.

In order to carry out the repair, the crew had to slow the boat to a standstill and tilt it onto its side in heavy weather so bowman Justin Slattery, lowered overboard secured to a rope and in full safety gear, could tighten the bolts on the outside of the hull.

Inside the hull, boat captain Wade Morgan and watch leader Craig Satterthwaite braced the damaged section with parts ripped from the boats bunks, stacking system and lockers.

“We’ve basically joined the skins back together with a mechanical fixing,” Walker said.

“At the moment it’s been much improved, we’ve got much less noise and it seems fairly strong.

“We’re still taking it quite easy right now.”

The damage was discovered in darkness, so the crew waited for daylight to effect repairs.

Walker praised the work of his crew, who carried out the repair in 30-knot winds and big seas, around 1,700 miles from land.

“Like always, these things bring the best out in the team and everybody played a role,” he added.

“Rob Greenhalgh ran everything on deck keeping everything steady.

“Wade and Craig oversaw the repairs down below and Justin Slattery was the man over the side on the halyard tightening the bolts.

“Everyone else was helping, there was a lot of stuff going on.”

It’s the second major repair the Abu Dhabi crew have had to carry out in Leg 5 from Auckland, New Zealand, to Itajaí, Brazil.

The team chose to return to Auckland within hours of starting the leg to repair structural damage to a bulkhead in the bow.

Walker said he was in talks with his team about how to progress, and that all options were open.

“The message is we’re in good shape,” he said.

“Right now we’re sailing with two people on deck, everyone else is down below resting.

“We’re making good progress towards the Chilean coast at the moment, north east away from the worst of the incoming weather.”

Abu Dhabi Twixt Devil and Deep Blue Sea

Abu Dhabi skipper Ian Walker is feeling a little “stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea” as his competitors in the west tip that his team will be the biggest losers in the east-west split.

“The opportunity to gain something back on the guys to the east is worth a shot, Groupama and PUMA are probably pretty safe, Abu Dhabi a little less so though, time will tell" - Team Sanya skipper Mike Sanderson

Since the fleet split in half and Team Telefónica, CAMPER and Team Sanya committed to a western course through the Solomon Islands archipelago, Walker has been fearful of losing his top three position.

Sanya skipper Mike Sanderson reckons that of the teams in the east it is Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing who is most vulnerable, with Groupama sailing team and PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG regarded as safe.

Sanderson said his team would have to be careful while dodging through the chain of islands, but the risk could be worth it if it meant gaining positions.

“The opportunity to gain something back on the guys to the east is worth a shot, Groupama and PUMA are probably pretty safe, Abu Dhabi a little less so though, time will tell,’’ he said.

CAMPER navigator Will Oxley also sees Abu Dhabi as easy pickings, especially since an unexpected wind shift on Saturday morning could mean they are on a tough course to lay the south eastern tip of the Solomon Islands.

“PUMA is just laying at the moment, Groupama is laying OK, but Abu Dhabi’s not laying, and if you don’t lay you could have a 150 nautical mile stretch upwind to get around the corner,” he said.

“If that is the case with Abu Dhabi and we don’t slow up then it is a significant advantage.”

Walker admits that he feels open to attack, with a real chance of dropping from third to last.

It was that fear that led Walker and navigator Jules Salter to considered taking the western route. But, eventually the pair agreed that they had a greater chance of protecting their ground by taking an eastern route.

“On board Abu Dhabi we were caught a bit between the devil and the deep blue sea,’’ he said.

“To turn down west would have meant giving up Telefónica and CAMPER, but it would have consolidated over Sanya.

“To carry on east means a chance of third place, unless we can catch Groupama or PUMA, but also a big risk of ending up last. This would be infuriating after sailing such a solid leg to date.

“For PUMA and Groupama there was no decision to be made as they are committed to the east. So, who will win east or west?

“Having been in third place we have the most to lose, but to go west would have been to give up two positions anyway.”