Volvo Ocean Race: "It's like a casino here"

The fourth leg also delivers what the new single class has promised since the start of the twelfth edition of the Volvo Ocean Race: it remains highly exciting! In calm and nerve-wracking equatorial conditions, the teams are fighting for every metre. Five of the six teams are sailing within sight of each other after 15 days at sea! Team SCA is also at the back of the pack, "only" 15 nautical miles behind the Chinese leaders. Dongfeng Race Team, which is also leading the overall standings, is just ahead. Two nautical miles behind them, Mapfre and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing are fighting for second place. Bouwe Bekking's Team Brunel has now recovered from the setback in the south and has stalked its rivals, who are still one knot slower, at a boat speed of 2.5 knots. Only three nautical miles separate Team Brunel from Charles Caudrelier's Dongfeng Race Team. Team Alvimedica, on the other hand, is only a tenth of a nautical mile behind the Dutch team, which is currently not flying. Nobody can complain about boredom in the position poker at this stage of the fourth leg.

"Who would have thought that 15 days after the starting signal," Mapfree's on-board reporter Francisco Vignale asked himself and the fans on Monday morning. He quotes his crew mate Jean-Luc as saying: "It's like a casino here." All the crews are sailing in the same area. The first could finish last. And vice versa. Vignale continues: "Dongfeng is upwind, Abu Dhabi is downwind and on the horizon we can see Alvimedica, which is slowly approaching our group. It couldn't be more exciting. I was really impressed today when the position report showed all the boats in line. We can feel the rivalry and there is no time for distractions. The fact is that one gust from the Doldrums can save you and the whole race itself. This stage is hot! We have been fighting mile after mile together with Abu Dhabi and Dongfeng. We took advantage of these huge rain clouds, took a shower and refreshed ourselves because it's too hot. Because we have no wind at the moment, it feels even hotter. We are in a good position to cross this transition zone if the winds allow. The rest is in the hands of eight sailors working tirelessly together. 24 hours a day. The goal: to bring Mapfre to the top of the podium. Go, Mapfre!"

The competition confirms Vignale's assessment and the tension caused by the doldrums and the wind and cloud roulette. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing's onboard reporter Matt Knighton reported: "When Ian calculated the models for all six teams, it came out that we would all reach Auckland within an hour and a half. What's more, the top three teams would only be separated by ten minutes. As we still have around five days to go, this is of course pure speculation. But one thing is certain: this stage could be one of the closest and least predictable of this edition."