Volvo Ocean Race are nearing the home strait of the first leg with Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing maintaining their status as leaders of the pack.
At 00:30 UAE time last night, ADOR were just over 1,000 nautical miles from Cape Town, but second-placed Dongfeng Race Team were breathing down their necks at just 10 miles off the pace.
There’s little to separate the top four on day 22 of the race, with Team Brunel (30nm) and Team Vestas Wind (58nm) in third and fourth positions respectively.
The three trailing teams have real work to do if they are to get back into the reckoning for the leg one win, with fifth-placed Team Alvimedica 130nm off the pace, Mapfre sixth and 296nm back, while last placed Team SCA a long way back (436nm).
There’s still potential for a shake up, of course, but there are unlikely to be many big gains now.
The Azzam sailors are steeling themselves for an imminent onslaught of strong winds and big waves. Ian Walker’s crew must wring every drop of boat speed out of the frontal system that is forecast to lash them with up to 30-knot winds over the next 48 hours.
Overnight, ADOR had to dodge around the tiny landfall of Gough Island, which cost them precious miles and frustrated skipper Walker. “We joke onboard that whichever island is out there always ends up getting in your way,” Walker said.
“Here we are, absolutely mid- Atlantic and we have to swerve around Gough Island. Tall islands at night-time are bad news, as they kill the wind around them – so we gave it a very wide berth.”
ADOR onboard reporter Matt Knighton said the crew know all too well that whoever deals with this latest storm best could go on to win the opening leg.
“The competitiveness has jumped to another level. The guys’ awareness of the situation is starting to grind into their daily rhythms. They know they can last three more days until the finish, despite sleep deprivation and lack of rest.
