Volvo Ocean Race Iberdrola In-Port Race in Alicante, Spain
by Volvo Ocean Race media 29 Oct 2011 17:37 BST
29 October 2011
First blood to Abu Dhabi in thrilling Volvo Ocean Race opener
Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing delivered an early blow to their rivals picking up the first points of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 with a comprehensive win in the inaugural in-port race.
The crew, led by British skipper and double Olympic silver medallist Ian Walker, romped home to a massive 14-minute win over their closest rivals in the Iberdrola In-Port Race in Alicante, Spain.
PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG were second, ahead of CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand in third. Team Sanya edged Groupama sailing team for fourth, with Team Telefónica coming home sixth.
Iberdrola In-Port Race Highlights Video:
Immediately on finishing, Groupama informed the race committee they were making a protest against CAMPER. Details of the protest were not immediately available.
“It’s a great win, I feel fantastic,” said Walker. “It’s a great start for Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing. I don’t think it means too much but I said before we left the dock that whoever wins today’s race can go home with a spring in their step and look forward to the week ahead.”
The in-port race marked the start of the epic 39,000 nautical mile round the world race, tipped to be the most hotly contested edition in the event´s 38-year history. And after opening their account with a crucial win, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing will go into the first offshore leg with a maximum six points and a psychological advantage.
In-port races take place in all 10 Host Ports around the world, testing the crews’ skills at close-quarters manoeuvres and tactics. More than 20 per cent of all points are up for grabs in the in-port racing, which could prove vital when overall positions are decided. The races also provide a show for the millions of people who will watch the race worldwide.
Strong winds and pelting rain greeted the teams as they left the dock in Alicante, Spain, but by the time the start gun fired at 1400 local time (1200 UTC-GMT) the weather cleared with a 10-15-knot breeze blowing down the race course.
An incredibly close start saw Abu Dhabi, CAMPER and Groupama lined up and equally matched, each looking for the slight advantage over their rivals. After a weak start, Telefónica and Sanya were left playing catch up.
As the yachts approached the first mark it was PUMA´s Mar Mostro with the inside track but sailing’s ‘rules of the road’ meant Ken Read’s team had to give way to Ian Walker’s crew and the United Arab Emirates’ first ever entry in the Volvo Ocean Race took the lead.
Slick crew work from Walker’s team saw them extend their lead during leg two. A nightmare rounding at the second mark saw CAMPER slip from second to fifth, a perfect example of how one mistake can cost dearly.
A dwindling breeze in Alicante Bay confounded the situation on the water as the teams struggled to keep their boats moving. The instability of the breeze led to the race committee shortening the course, and with a substantial lead over their opponents, victory was assured for Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing.
With the race’s first ever Emirati, 22-year-old Adil Khalid, waving the flag of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s yacht Azzam crossed the line to claim the first points of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12.
Walker said a slick sail change at the second mark was the key moment. “We had practised it in training and we pulled it off,” he said. “It was a credit to everyone.”
The six teams now have one week to make the final tweaks to their yachts before they set off from Alicante bound for Cape Town, South Africa, the first of nine offshore legs. Leg one starts at 1300 UTC (1400 local time) on November 5 and is expected to take around 21 days to complete.
Tomorrow a host of VIPs will get to experience the thrill of racing a Volvo Open 70 alongside the world’s best sailors in the Pro-Am races.
Check www.volvooceanrace.com for updates.
Iberdrola In-Port Race provisional results:
1. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing / 53 minutes 44 seconds/ 6pts
2. Puma Ocean Racing powered by BERG / 1 hour 07:58 / 5pts
3. CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand / 1:10:11 / 4pts
4. Team Sanya / 1:10:43 / 3pts
5. Groupama sailing team / 1:11:11 / 2pts
6. Team Telefónica / 1:12:08 / 1pt
Second place finish for PUMA crew at first In-Port Race of Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012
PUMA CEO Franz Koch, BERG CEO Håkan Svensson and HRH Prince Carl Philip of Sweden join the team onboard
The PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG team battled through light winds and a shortened course to finish second in the Iberdrola In-Port Race, the inaugural race of Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012 on Saturday, October 29, in Alicante, Spain. PUMA collected five points in the overall standings, finishing behind Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing.
“We are thrilled with second,” said skipper Ken Read. “These are the types of days you’re trying to escape in one piece, and it was hard work. The great thing about the day was that our boat handling improved, our communication was better and we were prepared. The boys really came through today, and that certainly helped us.”
The morning rain let up and the skies cleared in time for race start. PUMA’s Mar Mostro and crew quickly made their way down the first leg, rounding the first mark in third position. Shortly after passing the second mark, they moved ahead of CAMPER to take the second position behind Abu Dhabi. Although the breeze died, forcing the race course to get shortened, PUMA held on to second place through the third gate and across the finish line. CAMPER finished third, followed by Team Sanya in fourth, the Groupama sailing team in fifth and Team Telefónica in sixth.
“We got off to a good start,” said tactician Kelvin Harrap. “At the first turning mark, we had the opportunity to turn inside Abu Dhabi, but we took the conservative option and went behind them. At the bottom mark we went past CAMPER. Then, the rest of the race was just a matter of staying in the breeze – it was so variable. We sailed well today.”
Three special guests joined the team onboard to witness the action first hand: PUMA CEO Franz Koch, BERG CEO Håkan Svensson and HRH Prince Carl Philip of Sweden.
“It was truly awesome to be out there with the boys,” said Koch. “I was sitting in the back with Prince Carl Philip and we had a good time, chatted a lot and talked about the strategy for the race. It was wonderful to see the team in action and a great experience. I think we’re well positioned, and I look forward to following the team throughout the race.”
The In-Port Race marked the first opportunity for teams to score points towards the overall standings in the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012. With five points, the team heads into the start of Leg 1 next week in second place on the leaderboard.
On Sunday, the Pro Am Race will begin at 10:00 UTC (12:00) local with the first of three races. Guests onboard each race will participate in sailing PUMA’s Mar Mostro around the race course. Koch and Svensson will once again join the PUMA crew for the Pro Am, and this race they’ll get a bigger piece of the action.
In-Port and Pro Am races will be held at all 10 port stopovers. The first leg of this year’s Volvo Ocean Race gets underway on Saturday, November 5, and the fleet will travel 39,000 nautical miles, finishing in Galway, Ireland, in July 2012.
The PUMA Ocean Racing team is under the leadership of Read (Newport, Rhode Island, United States). The team includes: Tom Addis, Navigator (Sydney, Australia); Ryan Godfrey, Pitman (Adelaide, Australia); Kelvin Harrap, Helmsman, Inshore Tactician (Napier, New Zealand); Brad Jackson, Watch Captain (Auckland, New Zealand); Rome Kirby, Trimmer & Driver (Newport, Rhode Island, USA); Michael “Michi” Müller, Bowman (Kiel, Germany); Tony Mutter, Watch Captain (Auckland, New Zealand); Casey Smith, 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).
Ken Read on today’s result:
“You like getting points any time you have the opportunity to do so. We now go into this week with good morale. But, as soon as the next gun fires, it’s all wiped away and it’s time to start again.”
Update from Groupama
The first race for the six yachts competing in the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12: a rather laborious ten-mile course with conditions becoming increasingly light and fluky throughout the hour-long race. Abu Dhabi really stood out and Groupama 4, in fifth, showed that she doesn't have a lot to be envious of in relation to her rivals!
You had to want to win it as well as being both determined and lucky... voracious and opportunistic... Indeed, this first `In-Port' race didn't really reveal much about the potential of the boats and the abilities of the teams in the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR). In fact, the breeze wasn't as steady as forecast and the torrential rain which flooded the port of Alicante just short of midday, gave way to overcast, drizzly skies, swept by a light north-westerly breeze of less than ten knots as the starting gun fired...
The crew of Groupama 4 opted to skim past the Committee boat, positioning itself downwind of the fleet as the six VOR-70s were setting off on port tack to hunt down a bit more pressure offshore. With the New Zealanders, just a few metres to windward, Franck Cammas was holding his position perfectly when Abu Dhabi and Puma positioned themselves slightly further offshore. After a long port tack lasting over five minutes without any notable changes in the hierarchy due to the boats performing virtually identically upwind, Abu Dhabi was the first to launch into her tack change to hunt down the first course mark at the foot of the Santa Barbara cliffs, as the wind gradually dropped to a 5-7 knot north-westerly...
Springing back
Franck Cammas and his tactician Laurent Pagès opted to distance themselves from the fleet so as to hook onto slightly more pressure offshore and guarantee that they could make the mark rounding without having to put in a double tack change as they did yesterday... Indeed Ian Walker (Abu Dhabi) only just managed to round the mark, followed by Chris Nicholson (Camper TNZ) and Ken Read (Puma), Groupama 4 having conceded five boat lengths as the immense spinnaker was hoisted. At that point the wind had become very light, disturbed by the Spanish landscape, so the top four boats were just about able to eke out an average of eight knots virtually beam on to the wind.
At the leeward mark, the hierarchy seemed to have established since the Emirate leader boasted a hundred metre lead over the New Zealanders, they themselves maintaining the same lead over the Americans and French... However the decidedly flighty wind shuffled things up again as it became lighter and lighter. The mark rounding was very tight behind Ian Walker, who was still leading as he powered off again under Code 0 leaving his three direct rivals continuing to make headway under asymmetric spinnaker! This sail choice cost the Kiwis dearly as they were unable to get air into their sail and found themselves carried off downwind of Puma and Groupama 4...
The wind of change
The decision to opt for the Code 0 (a kind of very large genoa, attached to the bowsprit) initially paid off as Abu Dhabi extended their lead, while Puma and Groupama 4's consistent performance got them past Camper TNZ, the New Zealanders then getting overtaken by Sanya and Telefonica! However, the Spanish race zone certainly wasn't proving easy to predict as a succession of wind holes followed, with light puffs of air dropping down the mountainsides. Within metres of each other, two boats had a completely different breeze! Puma thus overtook Abu Dhabi in a matter of minutes, despite the latter boasting a lead of 200 metres... And for Groupama 4, everything turned on its head in a matter of seconds as the trailing trio hit a light breeze and devoured their deficit in no time!
Further upset came at the final course mark as the Americans took the top of the leaderboard ahead of the Emirate team... in the space of a tickle of breeze! However, with a maximum of just three knots of wind, a reshuffling of the cards was still a possibility. And though Ian Walker walked off with a deserved first victory after a good start and an excellent strategy downwind, the rest of the standing was more reminiscent of a lottery draw than a sports event: the results decided on a mere puff of breeze at the right moment! The final home straight was surreal to say the least as the leader powered over the line like a bullet in twelve knots of wind and a lead of over a mile, while its pursuers were still hunting down a zest of air at the final course mark...
Not for nothing...?
As such it took a further fifteen minutes to discover which of the five pursuers had come off best. The Americans on Puma ultimately took second whilst third place was snatched by the New Zealanders on Camper, followed by the Chinese on Sanya, the French on Groupama 4 and the Spaniards on Telefonica, who performed their penalty on the line... No lessons to be drawn from this chaotic and hazardous race then, other than the fact that Ian Walker and his Emirate crew have managed to earn themselves a few points. However, during the previous two editions, those who were best in the first `In-Port' race have never won the Volvo Ocean Race and those who did least well in this show-course really stood out at the finish! It remains to be seen if this is premonitory.
Three questions for the skipper of Groupama 4:
An excellent start by Groupama 4, and then a very fluky wind?
"It's a shame because we managed to carry out the tactics and get the start we wanted. We were third at one point, but we made a few bad decisions which meant that we didn't always have the same conditions as our rivals and sometimes we weren't in the right spots on the race zone! Luck wasn't really on our side but we always came back well: there wasn't a lot between us in the end but in this type of very light weather, a few metres cost us very dear."
What is your analysis of this rather unusual race?
"We've improved how we sail because we're communicating increasingly well aboard Groupama 4. The result isn't a true reflection of the progress we've made, but we're not far from being good. We know that these `In-Port' races are our weakness! We still have nine months to improve on this aspect, but it is clear that the training over recent days has borne fruit. The whole team is happy with the way we sailed and that's the most important thing."
Are these `In-Port' races rather a lottery?
"In Alicante, the course was at the far end of the bay, with an offshore breeze, which has rather pernicious effects... In Cape Town, things will be different because it's windy there, very windy even. Our architectural choices were based on a boat for breezy conditions! However, that's not why we've lost out today: had we sailed brilliantly, things would have panned out better as the level is very high in the VOR-70 domain. We're still lacking practice racing monohulls compared with our rivals but we're going to improve with every leg."
Of note is the fact that Groupama sailing team is today protesting Camper for using a system enabling them to cant the mast astern, which is strictly forbidden in the VOR race rules. This protest follows on from those lodged by Abu Dhabi, Puma and Telefonica on the same matter, without success.
In this latest process, Groupama sailing team has the benefit of Telefonica as a witness.