"Does anyone still have fingernails, or have they all been chewed off? This is so tight!!!" The question came from Charles Caudrelier's Dongfeng Race Team a few hours before the finish of the sixth stage. The battle for the Auckland triumph on the final day had already come to a head. And Caudrelier's team, just like the Spanish team Mapfre, which was leading the overall standings, had once again come back into contention for the podium places despite trailing far behind on the previous day.
"The red boats are coming up from behind at high speed," said Dee Caffari, whose team Turn the Tide on Plastic was actually already sailing towards a secure podium place. Actually. Because suddenly these red boats came back into play from behind at high speed. Caffari's foreboding comment on Tuesday morning: "It must be a joke. A moment ago they were 140 nautical miles behind, and now they're here. Never write off a red boat!"
At the front, Simeon Tienpont's AkzoNobel team and David Witt's Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag team fought a bow-to-bow duel for the lead on the Auckland course. The final sprint could not have been more exciting. Who would win the stage was not certain on this 21st and final day of the stage until shortly before the finish line. In New Zealand, many fans were rooting for AkzoNobel, Turn the Tide on Plastic and the red boats. They all have New Zealanders on board who sailed towards their homeland. Only Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag is racing without Kiwis.
After a great battle, AkzoNobel was the first boat to cross the finish line in front of Viaduct Harbour. "What a team! I am so proud of my team," said skipper Tienpont almost breathlessly in Auckland harbour. Minutes later, Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag finished second, before Mapfre and Dongfeng sealed the bitter end for Dee Caffari's team, crossing the finish line ahead of Turn the Tide on Plastic. Caffari's young mixed team had even led this leg for a while and only lost the podium place to Mapfre in the last 50 nautical miles. "It wasn't a very fair result for Turn the Tide on Plastic. They sailed very well and deserved this third place," said Dongfeng skipper Charles Caudrelier, who is known as a fair player.
There have often been exciting finishes in Auckland in the past of the Volvo Ocean Race. The closest was in 1994, when "La Poste" and "Galicia '93 Pescanova" dueled on the way to the line and "La Poste" with skipper Eric Tabarly was 12 seconds faster than the Spaniards, for whom the current "Mapfre" skipper Juan Vila was already in action at the time. However, this was not the closest finish in the entire history of the New Zealand Ocean Race, as in the 2005/2006 race the Spanish "Movistar" with Bouwe Bekking had reached Wellington nine seconds ahead of Team ABN Amro One.
For Olympic champion and America's Cup winner Blair Tuke of Team Mapfre, there was a small happy ending at the end of this eventful leg: the Spaniards beat their direct rivals in the battle for overall victory, relegating Caudrelier's Dongfeng Race Team to fourth place. Blair Tuke reported on New Zealand television: "This was the leg I was most looking forward to because it gave me the opportunity to sail to New Zealand. I had been away for a long time. I haven't been on an aeroplane since the start of the Volvo Ocean Race and I haven't been to New Zealand since September. And before that there was the America's Cup. So I've spent very little time in New Zealand and I'm really looking forward to seeing my family and friends. This is a pretty cool way to see them again."
Commenting on his team's performance so far, Tuke said: "We've had some tough stages recently. The one to Hong Kong wasn't great for us. And we weren't in too great a position on the way home either, but we're still leading the overall standings. So it's been a great race so far."
Tuke's friend, 49er and America's Cup exception taxman Peter Burling, would also like to draw such a balance, but is unable to do so. His team Brunel around skipper Bouwe Bekking had a rollercoaster ride through the results lists during the sixth leg, holding all positions at least once. In the end, the choice of the direct course to Auckland from New Caledonia proved fatal for the team on the yellow boat. What initially looked good turned into a frustrating lull. Brunel fell far behind the fleet before the Bekking crew were able to reduce the gap of almost 200 nautical miles to under 40 nautical miles in the final spurt within 24 hours. But not even this furious intermediate sprint was enough to get rid of the red lantern of the tail light on this leg - the competition was already too far behind. And so the likeable sailing superstar Peter Burling finished last in his home harbour of all places. Anyone who knows Bouwe Bekking's sense of humour can imagine that, despite this setback, the record eight-time participant in the Volvo Ocean Race will find words of encouragement in the coming days to apologise for the fact that his team brought New Zealand's sailing darling home so late.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
