Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing crossed the midway point of the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race in the lead as the fleet race towards the finish line in South Africa.
Since setting sail from Alicante, Spain en route to Cape Town, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing has consistently led the pack of seven teams – often by several nautical miles.
With an average speed of 20 knots, ADOR is currently sailing along the south eastern coast of Brazil before heading south east towards the finish line.
“Our main strategy for this leg was to sail conservatively by sailing with the main fleet rather than breaking away on our own or making any tactical gambles,” said ADOR skipper Ian Walker.
“We have been able to stick to this strategy despite some difficult unpredictable weather conditions, which included escaping the clutches of the doldrums during last weekend before heading out into stronger and steadier breezes on the way south towards the equator.”
Despite exiting Gibraltar in fourth place, the team was the first to capitalise on a wind shift soon after, which set them up well to move into the lead as the fleet headed south over the next week.
Azzam’s fight for the lead has not been easy, as the lack of normal solid Trade Winds in the North Atlantic Ocean meant the fleet turned south much quicker than normal, which resulted in a lot more maneuvering and very little sleep for the sailors.
With more than 5,000 miles of sailing ahead of them, one of the key challenges facing the team will be sailing around the light wind zone known as the ‘St. Helena High’ before turning for Cape Town.
The split in the fleet at the Cape Verde Islands was also a key moment and despite some nervous hours where the boats in the south looked to be making big gains.
Ultimately ADOR’s northerly route turned out to be the right one and Azzam managed to gain significantly.
