Abu Dhabi team maintain lead

Skipper Walker and his crew finish second to Dongfeng on Leg 6 of round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ador) — the emirate’s entry in the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) — finished Leg 6 of the epic race around the world in second place on Wednesday after 17 days at sea on the way from Itajai in Brazil to Newport, Rhode Island, on the US east coast.

The Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority-backed team, led by double Olympic silver medallist Ian Walker, crossed the finish line off the VOR race village in Fort Adams State Park at 10.25pm local time (6.25am UAE), three minutes and 25 seconds behind nearest overall rivals Dongfeng Race Team.

The result — the Abu Dhabi team’s sixth consecutive podium result — sees them maintain their place at the top of the overall leaderboard by a margin of six points with three legs left to race before the finish in Gothenburg, Sweden, at the end of June.

Ador skipper Walker said the leg, which saw the fleet cross the Equator for the fourth and final time and went down to the wire on the final day, had thrown up a series of challenges that had left the final result in doubt until the last day.

Fantastic result

“This is a fantastic result for us and really cements our overall position at the top of the leaderboard,” Walker said on the dock in Newport. “It was a tough leg and I think we have sailed better in this leg than any other one in the race so far.”

After drifting away from Itajai in virtually no wind, Ador took the lead early on the 5,010 nautical mile leg and looked in a strong position to consolidate their advantage in the opening week. However, on day 5, Azzam got trapped on the wrong side of a cloud line and missed out on the new breeze the rest of the fleet enjoyed.

This dumped the Abu Dhabi team from first to last, but Walker and his crew plotted their comeback and, after five days of small gains, day 10 saw Azzam catapulted back into the lead after several hours of riding a 30-knot squall line shortly after crossing the Equator.

Soon, however, the breeze eased and began to turn clockwise, allowing Dongfeng to sweep into a commanding lead.

As the fleet closed in on the US coastline, however, the Abu Dhabi team was able to steadily claw back precious miles and, by the final day, was within striking range of the leaders.

According to UAE sailor Adel Khalid, the crew was more nervous about a challenge from behind than trying to overtake.

“Finishing one place behind Dongfeng was the most important thing,” Khalid explained. “Getting a chance to challenge for the win at the end was a bonus. I spent the last couple of days just hoping that we could hold on to second. Now we take a six-point overall lead into the final three legs.”