Team Averda claimed the early initiative in the 2016 EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour as they won the opening leg of this year’s event from Dubai to Abu Dhabi yesterday.
Marcel Herrera’s young team built on their win in Monday’s Dubai in-port race to take charge of the fleet in the opening stages, claiming a narrow win from pre-event favourites EFG Bank Monaco.
Skipper Herrera finished second overall at the helm of Averda last year but did so without any sort of win, either in the in-port series or main off-shore race, so he is hoping their two opening victories is a good sign for this year.
“It was quite a good race against some strong competition,” said Herrera.
“The first half of the race was quite tactical and tough. It was really tricky because it was a hot day and the winds were light so it was quite enduring.
“We eventually managed to sail quite quickly and in the end it was a straight fight between us and EFG Bank to Abu Dhabi.
Leg one done. Managed to hold of a very fast team EFG to take the win. Long road ahead still. @averda #NeverStop pic.twitter.com/mrzPCuXy1O
— Andrew (Hammy) Baker (@ABSailing) February 16, 2016
“We were neck and neck at one stage then the wind shifted and we went one way and they went another. We managed to get in front and then just covered their every move and just defended our lead.
“That’s two wins for us so I’m hoping it’s a sign of things to come because we didn’t have any wins last year, so two wins in the opening two races has lifted our confidence.”
Kuwaiti-backed Team Zain, who had led early on, eventually came home in third place on the 61 nautical mile opening leg.
Skippered by Frenchman Cedric Pouligny, Team Zain started brightly when they opted to tack away from the rest of the fleet.
The move nudged them ahead of their rivals but by early afternoon they were clinging to a narrow lead of just 1nm over second-placed Dutch crew Team Delft Challenge.
Omani Fahad Al Hasni and his Renaissance Services team were in third but less than two miles separated the entire fleet at that point.
As the day wore on, EFG Bank, who have won the last two editions of the race, surged ahead and by the end it was a straight race between them and youngsters Averda to the Abu Dhabi finish line, with Herrera and his team keeping their cool to add to their perfect start.
There is a long way to go in the five-leg race, however, with each of the four remaining stages longer than the first leg sprint, with nearly 700 miles of Middle Eastern ocean to be traversed between now and the end of the race at the end of the month.
Today sees the Abu Dhabi in-port Race series held in the waters off Emirates Palace Marina.
