A bold move from Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing proved fruitful yesterday as they made up valuable time on the leaders in the Volvo Ocean Race.
It’s still all to play for though, with the fleet closing back up again after negotiating the tricky Cape Verde Islands.
Approaching the islands, which vary in height between 1,600m and 2,400m, posed the first real conundrum of leg one – whether to sail around or between them.
ADOR chose to go north, which saw them drop to fifth in the race on Sunday, but the decision eventually paid off.
“The potential to get becalmed beneath these imposing landscapes has generally made ocean racing navigators avoid sailing between them, despite the additional distance that is required by sailing to the north,” said team director Jamie Boag in his blog.
“That decision affects the next decision on where to cross the equator and manage the fickle doldrums and the light winds that are prevalent here.”
Chinese crew Dongfeng Race Team have already proved in this race they are not afraid of taking risks, and decided to go straight through the islands along with Mapfre and Team Vestas Wind, resulting in some nervous hours for ADOR who opted for the more traditional northerly route.
“There is a sense of relief that it appears our northern bet is paying dividends and we’ll draw even with Dongfeng if not make a few gains,” blogged on-board Azzam reporter Matt Knighton.
Despite the race reaching a key stage of leg one, the teams are still finding time to take in their surroundings and enjoy a few laughs. Three of Mapfre’s crew were hit by flying fish, explains on-board reporter Francisco Vignale.
“The worst is the smell they leave behind… and if one falls into the boat unnoticed, then it’s even worse,” he said.
Vestas crew members Tom Johnson and Peter Wibroe were pretty happy about seeing their first whales on the trip, according to reporter Brian Carlin.
At 23:30 UAE time last night, Azzam had been overtaken by Team Brunel, but were less than one nautical mile off the lead.
