Andrew Cape, the navigator of the leading Telefonica team, left the gala ceremony in Abu Dhabi yesterday in a huff when Sanya skipper Mike Sanderson accepted the award for outstanding seamanship for two of his sailors, Richard Mason and Jared Henderson. This was reported by the English newspaper "The Telegraph".
As we recall, Team Sanya took a risky extreme move to the north on the first leg of the second stage, putting them well clear of the field. It was a questionable tactical decision by Sanderson and his tactician Aksel Magdahl, which brought them close to a tropical storm. The price for the interim lead was then very high indeed: rough seas, lots of wind and damage to the rigging that forced the team to head for Madagascar. Mason and Henderson had to board the mast during the critical moments in order to rig an emergency stay so that the boat could reach the next harbour at all.
"If I had asked my crew if they would have agreed [to sail north at that time, ed.], they would have laughed at me," said the angry Cape. "When I saw that Sanya was doing exactly that, I thought: 'Good luck'. They don't deserve an award for seamanship for that." Cape received support from his compatriot Chris Nicholson, the skipper of the New Zealand Camper team. "As skippers, we have to minimise the risk to our crew because it's already high enough in this race," he explained. "I would never make a navigational decision to win a prize for seamanship. No way. The safety of the crew is paramount. We also considered this tactical decision, but rejected it."
The prize, awarded by a panel of VOR officials, was presented to Mason and Henderson for their "ingenious action". "In very difficult conditions, Richard and Jared were able to carry out a makeshift repair in the rig, replacing a broken part of the rigging and giving the mast the stability it needed to reach Madagascar," explained Sanderson. This not only prevented the third mast breakage of this regatta, but also saved Team Sanya from the embarrassment of travelling on the deck of a freighter again. It would have been embarrassing to arrive in their own harbour, in Sanya, China, where the third leg has its destination.
Is the whole affair being unnecessarily hyped up? Is it a symptom of sailors' growing frustration with a bizarre event? Or is it just a storm in a teacup? The matter will probably be forgotten today at 11am when the In-Port Race starts in Abu Dhabi. Tomorrow, Saturday, also at 11 a.m., the start of the first part of the third leg will take place, which could also be called the sprint to the freighter on which, as reported, the boats will be loaded for onward transport to a safe but unknown location in the Indian Ocean, where the now repaired Sanya will rejoin the fleet.
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