Volvo Ocean Race Cape Town In-Port Race
by Volvo Ocean Race 15 Nov 2014 15:32 GMT
15 November 2014
Cape Town In-Port Race © Ainhoa Sanchez / Volvo Ocean Race
Ian Walker (GBR) and his Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing crew became the confirmed kings of Cape Town on Saturday, clinching the in-port race less than a week after arriving here as Leg 1 winners.
The victory, by just over a minute, leaves them on top of the In-port Race Series too, and bursting with confidence for Leg 2 which starts on Wednesday (November 19).
Only in the sprint to the finish line from the final mark on the eight-mile course on Saturday, did Walker's men look under threat with Team Brunel (Bouwe Bekking/NED) and Team SCA (Sam Davies/GBR) breathing down their necks.
The fleet was split from the start in challenging conditions in Table Bay, under the famous Table Mountain, with winds jumping dramatically between 12 and 20 knots and rain clouds threatening throughout.
Walker's team from the Emirates have already shown that they can make the right decisions under the toughest of pressure, by edging out Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA) by just 12 minutes in a thrilling Leg 1 climax last week after 25 days of sailing from Alicante to Cape Town.
After some 20 minutes of racing on Saturday, they looked to have victory in the bag, especially after one of their rivals for the in-port series prize, Team Alvimedica (Charlie Enright/USA), suffered a tear in their headsail.
The battle for second place soon grabbed the attention of most with Team SCA and Team Brunel in a thrilling showdown after the Dutch found a burst of pressure midway round.
Bekking had earlier told a press conference that the in-port series was not a big priority for him.
But he and his crew were plainly giving it 100 percent as they scrambled with Team SCA for the second rung of the poldium.
A problem with a gennaker failing to unfurl cleanly finally scuppered the efforts of the women's crew to keep Bekking and co at bay and Team Brunel made one final effort to catch Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing.
Once again, Walker was ready for the challenge and by the finish line had a winning margin of a couple of hundred metres from Team Brunel with Team SCA in third.
Cape Town In-Port Race Results:
1. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing - 15:06:57 - 1pt
2. Team Brunel (NED) 15:08:00 - 2pts
3. Team SCA (SWE) 15:09:04 - 3pts
4. Dongfeng Race Team (CHN) 15:09:22 - 4pts
5. Team Vestas Wind (DEN) 15:11:25 - 5pts
6. Team Alvimedica (USA/TUR) 15:16:14 - 6pts
7. MAPFRE (ESP) 15:18:32 - 7pts
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Team SCA put their first foot on the podium in Cape Town (from Team SCA)
Team SCA took their first podium result in todays InPort race in Cape Town. In the shadow of Table Mountain the Volvo Ocean Race fleet was thrown a few surprises as conditions fluctuated with the teams experiencing anything from 7 to 30 knots.
Strategy and picking out the wind shifts on the six-lap course was crucial to success. Today Team SCA showed that the training is paying off securing their first podium result in the race to date.
"We had a reasonable start, not perfect. We didn't do everything perfectly, but at the same time we didn't make any huge mistakes. It felt like we did more right than wrong. But when you're racing in conditions with anything from 7 to 30 knots, its not easy, you feel like you've always got the wrong sail up and you're making compromises.
Today was a hard day for everyone onboard, from Stacey and the girls on the bow trying to wrestle the sails down, to Sally trying to find the wind in the right place and the trimmers trying to keep up with the wind changing all the time, it was just full on. We saw that making a small mistake can mean you give a lot away so we learnt a lot today," Skipper Sam Davies (GBR)
As expected the start was key to the result. Abu Dhabi led the fleet off the line with SCA making a strong tactical call to also take the left hand side of the course staying in touch with Walker and his crew. It was clear the left hand side was to pay dividends, as the top three boats extended to create a split in the fleet. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing managed to keep Team SCA and Team Brunel at arm's length and hold onto the win, with the Dutch team pipping SCA to second on the final leg to the finish.
This is Team SCA's first podium place in an InPort and their first time on the podium in this race to date.
"I think it is a great result for the girls, we have been giving some importance to the InPort race because it's always a good way for the crew to gain more confidence. It is a very happy day for us to be on the podium and the girls should be pleased with this result. For us, we really wanted to just keep a good momentum for this stopover before the very tough leg ahead. It's now time to switch the focus to offshore mode."
Team SCA has four days remaining until they depart for Leg Two, a 6,125 mile race to Abu Dhabi in the UAE. It is a leg that will deliver a range of conditions, another equator crossing and a tough final battle through the Gulf of Oman for the final stretch.