Four legs of the Volvo Ocean Race have produced four different winners and the six skippers are in agreement that the competition is actually getting closer.
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There are 16 points separating the top and bottom of the fleet and, despite the dominance so far of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and Dongfeng Race Team, the race is tantalisingly poised.
Back-to-back fifth place finishes for Team Brunel have knocked them to six points adrift of the top two in third, with Team Alvimedica and Mapfre both locked on 16 points, just two behind Bouwe Bekking’s men. Mapfre’s superb win on leg four has brought them back from the dead. Alvimedica, meanwhile, the youngest team in the race, continue to steer a steady course.
.@TeamAlvimedica experienced a ‘Little Bit of Everything’ in #Leg4 from Sanya to Auckland in the @VolvoOceanRace http://t.co/t6UhOp685P
— Team Alvimedica (@TeamAlvimedica) March 2, 2015
While ADOR, Dongfeng and Brunel had threatened to run away with it early on, leg four has really compressed the fleet.
Alvimedica skipper Charlie Enright said he had mixed feelings about finishing fourth when his team had once threatened to muscle in on the top three.
“No one hopes for fourth places, that’s not why we go sailing. But we’re seeing different aspects of our game,” said the 30-year-old American.
“It’s a decent result but you always want to do better. A very complete leg for our team and we’re in a good place moving forward.”
Charles Caudrelier and Dongfeng also endured a mixed fourth leg. Buoyed by dominating leg three, steaming into their home port of Sanya with a comprehensive win, a first ever for a Chinese crew, and then winning the in-port race, they took the early initiative in leg four. They then fell back to last place but stormed into the lead within 36 hours, eventually taking third place.
“We led out of Sanya but decided against taking the turn north. We were looking at it but I was a bit afraid to leave the fleet,” said Frenchman Caudrelier, 41. “We were in the best position. We decided to stay on the south and it was a mistake for sure. We got a bit lucky because it could have killed the race, but we managed to come back and it was fantastic.”
Team SCA are still marooned in last, on 24 points, but skipper Sam Davies is aware her all-female team are improving drastically.
“Results haven’t changed but it feels to us like we’re improving and we’re almost in contact with the fleet,” said the 40-year-old Briton. “For a few days we sailed next to Dongfeng and Brunel and tried our hardest. We improved throughout and that’s a big confidence boost.”
The new race leader #goazzam is craned out for a maintenance overhaul in Auckland. #inabudhabi #volvooceanrace #vor pic.twitter.com/ZhZUTm0iRe
— AbuDhabiOceanRacing (@ADORlog) March 1, 2015
Brunel skipper Bekking, 51, a veteran of six previous VORs, admitted a decision to go east while leading close to the equator cost his team a chance of a second leg win.
“One mistake cost us and it doesn’t feel good. Sometimes that’s how sailing goes,” he said. The race is not yet at the halfway point and to make matters interesting, the daunting voyage from Auckland to Itajai, Brazil, looms large.
Negotiating strong winds, freezing temperatures, rounding Cape Horn and sailing along the South American coast will be a challenge in itself.
