A full eight points currently lie between the Spanish leaders from Telefónica and the New Zealand chasers from Camper. Even though Camper's skipper Chris Nicholson is keen to win, he doesn't want to rush things. "There is no match racing option," says the Australian. "There's still a lot of sailing to do and we have to look after all the competitors." Taking the long view and stringing together places on the podium, says Nicholson, is a strategy that has already proved its worth in previous races. "We are always good for a win and have never finished lower than the top three."
And his rival Iker Martinez? The Telefónica skipper is delighted that racing is back, even if the forecast light winds don't necessarily suit his team. "We've made a few useful modifications, but we'll have to see. Hopefully it will be a good race, or at least not a bad one." The Spaniards do not want to rest on their laurels, but are keen to improve further. They just don't want to change too much because, according to Martinez, the boat is going quite well.
The teams from Groupama and Puma Ocean Racing, who are in third and fourth place in the overall standings, are also aiming to make further progress. With their victory in the sprint finish of the second leg and their victory in Thursday's Pro-Am Race, which was, however, meaningless, the French team currently appear to be in better shape. Puma has been disappointing so far and has not yet found its form following the mast breakage. But skipper Ken Read remains patient: "The whole race has to find its rhythm again. With the boats being shipped during the third leg, that will take some time, but everyone is looking forward to it."
The programme: Tomorrow, Friday at 2 pm (12 noon CET), the In-Port Race is on the programme, and on Saturday at 2 pm (12 noon CET) the first part of the third leg will start. This will be a sprint along the coast, at the end of which the boats will be loaded back onto the freighter to Somewhere. Six points will be awarded for winning both the in-port race and the sprint. As soon as the five boats are lashed to the deck of the transport ship, they will sail through the Strait of Hormuz, which remains at the centre of the political tensions surrounding the nuclear dispute with Iran and which the government in Tehran is threatening to block. Afterwards, the pirate area of the Indian Ocean will be crossed before the boats are unloaded at an unknown location to continue the race towards China.
At this secret location, Team Sanya will also be taking part again, having sailed the first part of the second (!) leg by then. Sanya will also receive points for this. But, and this is another curious aspect of this event, points will also be awarded for the In-Port Race in Abu Dhabi and the first part of the third leg, even though they are not competing in either race.
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Current positions and distances in the Live tracker.
