Abu Dhabi team pip Telefonica for morale-boosting double win
FIRST STAGE OF LEG 3 SEES HOME BOAT RALLY TO SNATCH NARROW VICTORY
Th e b o a r d a l s o r e - viewed the proposed plan for enhancing the role of sports and football club academies in strengthening the sector for scouting and developing talents at these clubs.
The members also discussed a report submitted by the concerned committee regarding the phases for completing the Dubai Centre for Special Sports swi mming p o o l , which will be f i nanced by t he Dubai Sports Council.
T h e m e e t i n g a l s o t o u c h e d u p o n va r i o u s s u b j e c t s , s u c h a s t h e council’s efforts i n cate g o r i s i n g t o u r n a men t s and championships taking place i n Dubai, and t he role of sport club boards in marketing and promoting sports and spreading a culture of sports as per t he directives of Shaikh Mohammad. Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing completed a brilliant double triumph when t h ey s n a t c h e d v i c t o r y with a late surge in the f irst stage of Leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean Race, which f inished late on Saturday night at Sharjah.
After Team Telefonica had led for most of the 106 nautical mile- race f rom Abu Dhabi to Sharjah, the Ian Walker-led Abu Dhabi boat Azzam sailed ahead with about two miles left and then managed to stay ahead of a fa s t - f i ni s hing Puma to add six more points to their tally.
The sprint success came hot on the heels of the InPort race win and, with 12 points won on home waters, Abu Dhabi now have 31 points and are still in f ifth place. Puma f inished s e cond t o ga r ner f i ve points, Groupama were 1. Team Telefonica -71 pts 2. CAMPER - 64 3. Groupama - 51 4. Puma Ocean Racing - 36 5. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing - 31 6. Team Sanya - 4 t hird ( four points) and Telefonica managed only three points for a fourthplace f inish, with Camper f inishing last in the f iveboat race.
Like Leg 2 from Cape Town to Abu Dhabi, Leg 3 from Abu Dhabi to Sanya has been split i nto two stages.
Safe-haven port
The sprint section will now be followed by the second stage, which starts from a safe-haven port in the Indian Ocean in a bid to counter piracy in dangerous waters off the coast of Africa. It finishes in Sanya in China.
We’re thrilled to have put on a good show for Abu Dhabi, thrilled that the stopover’s been successful, but we’re very mindful that we still have a lot of work to do.”
“I guess when Telefonica gybed and we saw how much we cl osed t hem down with about half an hour remaining in the race, we thought we are going fast here and it’s possible we can get them,” said Abu Dhabi skipper Walker, after winning from Puma in a time of one minute and 1 6 s econds. “Gradually we overhauled Telefonica and we became more concerned that Puma stayed behind us.
“Definitely, coming into Abu Dhabi in f ifth was a real low point, the stopover was a real high and
Ian Walker Skipper, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing team
t hen who would have thought that we could get two f irsts to round it off. I couldn’t be happier.”
Walker added: “But, in terms of points, of course, i t ’s far more i mportant that we do well on the next l eg, so we’re thrilled to have put on a good show for Abu Dhabi, t hrilled that the stopover’s been successful, but we’re very mindful that we still have a lot of work to do.”
Telefonica skipper Iker Martinez, whose boat is still the overall leader, said after the sprint: “We had a pretty quick leg. We start- ed with the short course and, for more than three hours, we had 20 knots of boat speed. It was very quick.
“We had one sail in the water for a little bit, so we had to slow down to manage the situation. We lost some speed and the guys behind came up very fast and we lost our position.
Painful sight
“It was a little bit painful to see them going forward. These things happen sometimes.”
While t he boat s a re shipped to the safe-haven port, most of the crew will take a short holiday and then rejoin the boats for the second stage of Leg 3.
The Volvo Ocean Race wil l t hen co nt i nue t o Sanya and then to Brazil and USA, before heading across the Atlantic Ocean to Portugal, France and Ireland for the f inish in July this year.