The destiny of the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) trophy will become clearer after the fleet move past the halfway point and finish the longest and toughest leg of the race.
– Team SCA claim in-port win in a thriller at Auckland harbour
– #Quiz360: WIN dinner for two at Media Rotana
– Supercyclone knocks VOR off course until Tuesday
That is the belief of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing skipper Ian Walker, who led his team out of Auckland in the early hours of this morning on the gruelling 6,776 nautical mile journey towards Brazil.
Tropical Cyclone Pam has already caused plenty of trouble, ensuring the departure from New Zealand was delayed by 67 hours, surely a sign of things to come for the six boats.
“It’s an important leg coming up, the longest and toughest one,” said Azzam’s captain. “Chuny (trimmer and helmsman Roberto Bermúdez de Castro) said that by the time we get to Brazil we’ll have an idea of who can win this race, and I think that’s very true.”
In case you missed the live broadcast of the leg 5 start, here’s the full replay: https://t.co/PeUkr33myh #VOR
— Volvo Ocean Race (@volvooceanrace) March 17, 2015
Leg five is a harsh mistress, with Walker claiming it is what the race is usually remembered for. Cyclone Pam will only add to that, with the fleet expected to find its trail within a few days.
After complaining of cripplingly light winds on many of the legs so far, that won’t be a concern on this one, admits Walker.
He said: “Some of the conditions we’ll encounter on this leg include the strongest winds of the race so far, we’ll definitely see that. The coldest sea and air temperatures down to three degrees, and the biggest waves.
“And, after we reach Cape Horn there’s still 2,000 miles to go to Brazil. If we can survive Cape Horn while not being too far off the lead, we can then push hard for the remainder of the leg for the win. As long as we’re left in with a chance of challenging, we’ll be satisfied.
“There’s no use getting to Cape Horn first though if the crew and boat are banged up.”
Even though Auckland to Itajai offers the teams the same amount of points as the legs before it, the sailors know this is where the race starts to get real.
“It’s (leg five) the most problematic and if you don’t complete this leg it can put you out of the race,” said the 45-year-old skipper. “We’re halfway through the Volvo Ocean Race now and we want to try and be consistent, that’s the key.
“We want to try and beat Dongfeng. That is important and is becoming increasingly so.”
After missing leg four, Emirati Adil Khalid is still suffering with a virus, so again misses out.
