First five boats finish Volvo Ocean Race Leg 3 in Sanya, China

Team Telefonica win leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean Race

First five boats finish Volvo Ocean Race Leg 3 in Sanya, China

By Volvo Ocean Race media on 4 Feb4 February 2012Team Telefonica win leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean Race

Groupama finish second in leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean Race

CAMPER finish third in leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean Race

All photos © Ian Roman / Volvo Ocean Race

Team Telefónica clinched their third victory from three legs in the Volvo Ocean Race on Saturday, as less than nine hours separated the top five teams at the finish of the 3,051 nautical mile (nm) second stage of Leg 3 from the Maldives to Sanya in China.

Telefónica, the overall race leaders, crossed the line at 03:58:22 UTC, finishing the second stage in 12 days 19 hours 58 minutes 21 seconds to take 24 points and become the first boat since Peter Blake's Steinlager 2 in 1989-90 to sweep the first three legs.

Groupama sailing team came in second, giving them 20 points, while CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand took the third podium place and 16 points.

PUMA Ocean Racing picked up 12 points for fourth, with Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing coming in fifth and taking eight points.

Telefónica navigator Andrew Cape said the second stage of Leg 3 had been full of challenges and one of the most difficult he had ever experienced.

“It’s one of the toughest legs I’ve done,” he said. “Mentally it was very difficult, tactically very difficult. Physically it wasn’t as tough as a long southern ocean leg but mentally it was really hard."

“I’m feeling really exhausted and I just want to have a beer.”

Telefónica’s third consecutive leg win extended their overall lead to 15 points over Chris Nicholson’s CAMPER.

Franck Cammas’ Groupama, who crossed the line at 05:45:25 UTC after 12 days 21 hours 45 minutes 24 seconds at sea, remain third overall but are now within nine points of CAMPER.

Cammas said the final part of the second stage of the leg had been punishing for the French crew.

“We had many manoeuvres all the time. In the last 48 hours we did 24 tacks and each tack on a Volvo Open 70 is very hard. All the crew have to be awake.

“The fight was very good with the others. I think Telefónica is very fast in these conditions, so all the time they gain a little bit in distance because of their speed.

“It was a good opportunity to test our boat with Telefónica and the leading boats. We improved a lot in the tuning of Groupama so it was very good for us.”

CAMPER finished at 07:28:24 UTC with an elapsed time of 12 days 23 hours 28 minutes 23 seconds.

Skipper Chris Nicholson confessed to being disappointed with third place after a tactical call in the Malacca Strait saw them lose touch with the leaders.

“We thought and expected to do better than third to be honest but it’s a difficult race we’re entered into with the best professional teams in the world,” he said.

“We got on the wrong side of a thunderstorm in the Malacca Strait. The other guys went to the Indonesian shore line and we couldn’t get there.

“That was pretty much the ball game there and then.

“We left the Singapore Strait in fifth so we’re happy to have got back to third. We thought we were a lot better than fifth. To finish third is good, it’s a good positive for us to finish on.

Nicholson said his team were looking forward to some rest but would continue to work on improving their performance for the remainder of the race.

“There’s still a lot of thought required about how we can start winning legs," he said. “We’re able to match the leaders at certain periods of the race and then we kind of let ourselves down occasionally.

“We just have to keep working on that, go back to the designer, see if there’s anything more in regards to how we’re sailing the boat.

"We hope to rest up a bit now. It’s been a big exercise in sailing and logistics so a big rest up here is in order so we can come out with good training and attitude for the in-port race.”

Ken Read’s PUMA Ocean racing powered by BERG crossed the Sanya finish line at 08:29:13 UTC having taken 13 days 29 minutes 13 seconds.

They remain in fourth overall with 48 points.

Skipper Ken Read said the key moment of the second stage of the leg had been their breakaway move out to the east in the final few days.

“I think, the whole world knows our most defining moment was choosing an easterly course on the last bit from the Malacca Strait to Sanya,” he said.

“It didn’t work and I put my hand up for that. At the end of the day that’s my call. I have to look at myself in the mirror over these decisions.

“We have to sit down and figure out better ways to handle these situations. I’m not in anyway going to turn my back on these decisions, but at the same time we take calculated risks.

“But instead of just saying screw it and quitting, we bowed back into it got back ahead of Abu Dhabi and shouting distance of CAMPER.

“Net loss one boat in that whole debacle, so we have to take that for what it is and live to fight another day.”

Ian Walker’s Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing closed out the top five, finishing at 11:05:06 UTC after 13 days three hours nine minutes and 59 seconds of racing.

Walker said that other than in the Malacca Strait there had been few tactical options during the second stage of Leg 3.

“Certainly in the first week and in the last few days there has been a lot of straight line and boat speed sailing,” he said.

“A lot of light wind and up wind. We just crossed the miles off and we are glad to be here.

“The Malacca Strait is always busy although this time it was nowhere near as bad as it could have been. We had one hard night along the Vietnamese coast with a succession of tacks, but other than that I would say it was relatively easy on the bodies.

“The margins are very small. The difference between us and Telefónica is one or two per cent.

“We sailed pretty well, we just didn’t have the legs to keep up with the leaders.”

Despite having had to deal with a problem with their winches earlier today, Mike Sanderson’s Team Sanya remained on track to finish the second stage of Leg 3 tomorrow February 5.

Position Report at 11:52:35 UTC:

Pos	Team	DTL	BS	DTF
1	TELE	FIN	012d 19h 58m 21s
2	GPMA	FIN	012d 21h 45m 24s
3	CMPR	FIN	012d 23h 28m 23s
4	PUMA	FIN	013d 00h 29m 12s
5	ADOR	FIN	013d 03h 09m 59s
6	SNYA	0	13.5	296.6

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Second into China (from Groupama)

Though the Spanish have once again taken victory in this third oceanic leg, Franck Cammas and his men have earned themselves a superb second place in China and boosted their position on the podium in the overall standing. Groupama 4 is now proving to be a real threat to Camper and is gaining an edge over Puma and Abu Dhabi…

Ultimately it took a little over twelve and a half days to complete the 3,000 miles separating the Maldives from China: Telefonica took victory in Sanya with a time of 12d 19h 58', followed less than two hours later by Groupama 4 (12d 21h 45'). This latest victory for the Spanish assures their position as leader in the overall standing, but Franck Cammas and his crew are now just nine points shy of the New Zealanders, who were third into China, and have increased their lead over the Americans (23 points) and the Emiratis (32 points). This second place comes as a great satisfaction to the French team, since the prevailing upwind conditions and light airs aren't the most favourable for Groupama 4. Finishing slightly earlier than scheduled, the whole crew will be able to get some rest after this very physically demanding leg, which was mentally stressful. The start of the next offshore leg to Auckland is scheduled for Sunday 19 February.

Franck Cammas at the finish in Sanya

“This second place is one we'd have liked to have signed for before leaving the Maldives! It was the least favourable leg for Groupama 4 because we had light winds and upwind, but in the end we sailed in close-contact with the top players and we really made our presence felt. We battled to make sure we were always in the thick of the action and never fell off the pace. Telefonica did manage to get away from us at the end though: the Spanish have an extremely quick boat in these conditions. We're back in the game in terms of the overall standing in relation to Camper and Puma and we've done a really good job.

The outcome of the race was decided in part in the Straits of Malacca and one night in particular we made good use of the squalls and managed to close on the leaders pretty quickly. The Spanish are certainly impressive with 3 victories in the 3 offshore legs. Like everyone else though, they make mistakes, but fewer than the others. They had conditions which favoured them too: sailing fast and in the right direction makes a win rather logical! They have some weaknesses, which we were able to analyse and we have our strengths: we'll have to see what happens in the next few legs.

We're very tired. I think it was the hardest and most intense leg so far in this Volvo Ocean Race. It was virtually impossible to do whole watches over the last 48 hours as there were a lot of manoeuvres.

I think we're probably more dangerous now, but we're only a third of the way into the race. We certainly lost points during the second leg: without that we would be closer to the leaders today. However, what I take from this leg is that our crew has made the most progress over the different races...”

Thomas Coville

“It was a very fine second leg because it called for incredible commitment on a physical level as we were almost constantly in contact with the other competitors. It's something every racer in the Volvo Ocean Race dreams about, on a complicated course, that was difficult but exotic at the same time, since we were very close to the coast at times. The Straits of Malacca, the Vietnamese coast; that is an inspiration to Europeans! The battle with Telefonica, Camper and Puma has been superb: it's a privilege, a pleasure and an honour to sail against crews of this level. I think that we're on an upward spiral: we question what we do, we work hard, we're making progress and we're starting to worry the other teams. Above all though, we're enjoying ourselves!”

Jean-Luc Nélias

“We were expecting worse in the Straits of Malacca: I reckon we've done well in this leg which wasn't as long as we'd imagined at the start, with fewer obstacles and less shipping than we'd thought… We were amazed we got out of this funnel so quickly. Other than that, it's a leg where we were predominantly sailing close-hauled, into the wind, not making headway! You have to put in a series of tacks which is laborious, particularly over the last four days with bigger seas and strong wind. It was tiring, not just physically but also mentally, because there was a lot of strategy involved, light airs, storms, squalls and hence a lot of stress and uncertainty about the tactical choices.

However, we have been rubbing shoulders with some incredible landscapes: the tip of Sumatra where, if you'd listened hard enough, you'd have been able to hear the monkeys; a rather misty Straits of Malacca with a lot of shipping; the Vietnamese coast with the Mekong Delta and its thousands of fishermen… My father was a mechanic on a cargo ship which followed the Asia route and I'd always heard tell of Saigon (now known to the western world as Ho Chi Minh City)… All these names on the charts are magical. It was very sporty too this leg! We're third in the overall standing and we've closed on the team in second place: we're only a third of the way into this Volvo Ocean Race so we still have six oceanic legs to go…”

CAMPER'S Hard Earned Podium Position (from CAMPER)

CAMPER crossed the line in Sanya on Saturday after 12d 23h 28m 23s and a hard earned 3000 miles, to take third place on Leg 3. In claiming the final podium position, Chris Nicholson and his crew retain second place on the leaderboard, but the battle for a first winning leg continues.

After a tactical decision in the Malacca Straits saw CAMPER slip to fifth, the crew worked hard to pull back the miles on the boats in front of them and secure a podium finish.

Writing from onboard this morning, MCM Hamish Hooper said: “The guys are truly exhausted, they have really dug it in massively since things didn’t go our way in the Malacca Straits. Since it became evident that our decision didn’t work out and we were leaving the Singapore Straits in fifth position, there hasn’t been a hint of negativity or even disappointment, just the unspoken desire and grit to work as hard as it takes to claw our way back up the fleet as far as we possibly could. And the guys have all done that.”

The last 1000 miles have seen the fleet battle it out along the Vietnamese coastline with a tacking extravaganza.

Hooper added: “How many tacks have we done in the last three days? I purposely didn't count the stacks and tacks. Everyone on the boat just put their head down and got stuck in to the work that had to be done. We started nice out of the Maldives and we were level pegging with the leaders. There were a couple of crunch moments approaching the Malacca Straits, and in the Straits where we went down the more traditional route along the Malaysian coast. We left the Straits in fifth, so to work our way to third is a good result in the end.”

Skipper Chris Nicholson vented his frustration at having failed to apply more pressure on the leading pair.

“There’s still a lot of thought required about how we can start winning legs,” he said. “We’re able to match the leaders for certain periods of the race, and then kind of let ourselves down occasionally. Like everyone does it, all the teams do it, but maybe I’m a little bit more conscious of it than most. So we just have to keep working on that, go back with the designer to see if there is anything more in regards to how we are sailing the boat, and actually rest up a bit here at this stopover. Even though we haven’t done a lot of miles in the last month as such, it’s been a long month in regards to the Abu Dhabi stopover, the sprint legs, the shipping out of the Maldives. It’s been quite a logistic and sailing exercise, so (we’ll have) a good rest up here, and come out with some good training and attitude for the in-port race.”

Nicholson insisted the focus was now on delivering a winning performance. Asked if the gap between CAMPER and Telefonica could be bridged, he replied: “Are Telefonica quick? Yes. Are are they unbeatable? No.”

PUMA arrives in China, finishes fourth in Leg 3 (from PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG)

After a roller coaster leg, PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG finished fourth overall in the two-stage Leg 3 from Abu Dhabi, UAE, to Sanya, China, crossing the line at 08:29 UTC/16:29 local on Saturday, February 4, 2012, in the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. The crew added 12 points to their overall total after completing the stage in 13 days, 29 minutes and 12 seconds. PUMA collected 17 points total for Leg 3 and remains in fourth place in the overall standings with 48 points.

"We did what we thought was right, that's all you can ever do. We're in the game to take calculated risks where they happen," said skipper Ken Read. "Our boat handling is great, our crew work is great, the effort is fantastic, but we have to get better at picking our edge. We'll regroup, and go into this next leg just like we always do, trying to win. Nothing is going to change moving forward.”

PUMA started the second stage of Leg 3 on Sunday, January 22, at 08:00 UTC in the safe haven port of Male in the Maldives. Through the Malacca Strait, around Singapore and up the coast of Vietnam, the crew sailed more than 3,000 nautical miles to the fourth port of Sanya. Team Telefónica won Leg 3 overall, with the Groupama Sailing Team crossing the line in second and CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand in third.

"When we took our eastern option, we went into it thinking it may be first or fifth. When we realized it wasn't going well, we joined the fleet and got one place back, so that's some consolation,” said navigator Tom Addis. "They key thing was realizing when something wasn't going right and doing something about it.”

On the start of the leg, PUMA’s Mar Mostro demonstrated its speed up the Sharjah coastline out of Abu Dhabi, UAE, on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, finishing in second place in the first stage of Leg 3 with a time of 16:31:01. As was the case with Leg 2, the Leg 3 route was redrawn and split into two stages due to the threat of piracy in the Indian Ocean. Stage 1 was the one-day sprint up to Sharjah, and the second stage was the journey to Sanya. Stage 2 of the leg counted for 80 percent of the available leg points.

The Volvo Ocean Race started on November 5 in Alicante, and the fleet is traveling 39,000 nautical miles through 10 ports, finishing in Galway, Ireland, in July 2012.

The PUMA Ocean Racing team is once again under the leadership of Read (Newport, Rhode Island, United States). Collectively, the crew has won the Around the World Race six times. The core includes: Tom Addis, Navigator (Sydney, Australia); Ryan Godfrey, Pitman (Adelaide, Australia); Kelvin Harrap, Helmsman, Inshore Tactician (Napier, New Zealand); Brad Jackson, Design Coordinator & Watch Captain (Auckland, New Zealand); Rome Kirby, Trimmer & Driver (Newport, Rhode Island, USA); Michael “Michi” Müller, Bowman (Kiel, Germany); Tony Mutter, Aerodynamics Coordinator & Watch Captain (Auckland, New Zealand); Casey Smith, Systems Manager & Bowman (Brisbane, Australia); Jonathan “Jono” Swain, Helmsman & Trimmer (Durban, South Africa); Amory Ross, Media Crew Member (Newport, Rhode Island, USA); Kimo Worthington, General Manager (Portsmouth, Rhode Island, United States); and Tim Hacket, Shore Team Manager (Sydney, Australia).