Volvo Ocean Race: It's going to be a long night

The last 200 nautical miles of the second leg promise to be the most strenuous. Team Brunel was still in the lead this morning, but the Chinese boat followed just one nautical mile behind. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing had already closed to within four nautical miles during the night, but then dropped back to ten.

Trimmer Adil Khalid, who learnt to sail in the emirate, could now become the wild card for Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing. "He had promised us that the sea breeze would start at 9.00 a.m. and you could set your watch according to that," writes on-board reporter Matt Knighton.

Over the next few hours, the boats will round the Musadam peninsula, which consists of high mountains and is also known as the Norway of Arabia because of its fjords. However, the mountains also cast long slipstreams, and it remains tactically extremely challenging before the final sprint to Abu Dhabi.

You can find the current distances and dates here...