Ian Walker skippered Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing to victory in the Cape Town in-port race on Saturday after yet another close finish.
The UAE capital’s sailing club already leads the pack for the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race title after claiming victory in Leg 1 last week.
While in-port races do not count towards the leg wins, in the event of a tie the team with the most wins will be named champions.
As winds swayed between 12 and 20 knots and rain clouds threatening throughout, tricky conditions at sea meant the fleet divided their respective paths from an early stage.
.@ADORlog greeted by their happy fans after their In-Port race win today #VOR pic.twitter.com/YHtjDIZzXV
— Volvo Ocean Race (@volvooceanrace) November 15, 2014
Walker’s decision for a port line early in the sprint for the first mark paid off as Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and Sweden’s all-women Team SCA raced clear.
Just twenty minutes into the race, the Abu Dhabi team looked like they had the win under their belt after close rivals, Team Alvimedica, suffered a tear in their jib.
Alvimedica triumphed in the opening in-port race in Alicante on October 4.
The battle for second was fierce between SCA and Netherlands’ Team Brunel after the latter made the most from a burst of pressure midway through proceedings.
A problem with a gennaker failing to unfurl kept Brunnel at bay, with skipper Bouwe Bekking and his crew making one last effort to catch Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing out in front.
But Walker and his team were prepared for the challenge and crossed the line ahead of Brunel in second and SCA in third.
