The gladiators rode in on camels, in the traditional style of the country. But then the In-Port Race in Abu Dhabi got down to some serious sailing in light, shifty winds, where boat speed alone is irrelevant. The crowds of spectator boats were large, and at the start in particular, this provided an opportunity to outsmart the competition. Every team was ahead at least once, but in the end the luck of the draw was on the side of Ian Walker and Abu Dhabi, who prevailed against the strong sailing French team from Groupama.
After Alicante, it was the second victory in an in-port race for Abu Dhabi, but also the first real sense of achievement after the mast came down from above just a few hours after the start of the first leg. Perhaps the home victory was also due in part to the royal guests, such as Prince Andrew, the Duke of York and Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, who sailed on "Azzam" (the Falcon) and probably didn't like coming second.
"We wanted to win here and were prepared to take risks to do so," said the happy Walker afterwards in front of a backdrop of flag-waving fans. "We knew that winning here would be something special for everyone." Camper from New Zealand came third, maintaining their tradition of podium finishes, ahead of Puma, who had to do a penalty loop soon after the start, and Telefonica, who got off to the best start but then made too many mistakes and dropped back to fifth and last place in the end.
The first part of the third leg, which will cover more than 4,000 nautical miles to Sanya in China, starts at 11 a.m. CET on Saturday. Once again, the boats will only sail as far as Sharjah on the north-east coast of the emirate before being taken by freighter through the Strait of Hormuz and the pirate area in the Indian Ocean. They will then be docked at a secret location to continue the race to China. The forecast predicts NW winds of between 13 and 16 knots, which are expected to pick up to 22 knots later on.
Result In-Port Race
- Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing 6 points
- Groupama 5
- Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand 4
- Puma Ocean Racing powered by Berg 3
- Team Telefonica 2
- Team Sanya DNS*
Intermediate overall standings
- Team Telefonica 68
- Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand 62
- Groupama sailing team 47
- Puma Ocean Racing powered by Berg 31
- Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing 25
- Team Sanya 4 (not competing in Abu Dhabi)
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Current positions and distances in the Live tracker.
