Volvo Ocean Race: Spaniards reach Auckland first

Lash final in New Zealand! It was already clear the evening before that it would be close. But just how close was a bit of a surprise, even when you consider that identical one-design yachts are sailing around the world.

In the end, only 4 minutes and 25 seconds separated the Spanish winners from Ian Walker's Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, who, with his second place in Auckland, is once again first in the overall standings and thus lives up to his role as favourite. Charles Caudrelier's crew on Dongfeng was not long in coming either. The Chinese team, which had worked its way up from last to first place in the meantime, finished third just minutes after Walker & Co. in third place.

This edition of the Volvo Ocean Race is certainly not lacking in excitement. Four legs - four different winners! This promises to be a rarely open and varied second half. Especially as the course of this last leg before the Southern Ocean and Cape Horn shows how much the teams' performances have equalised - and how decisive a single mistake or a lucky shot can be.

The Dutch were hit the hardest. Brunel had taken the lead at the start of the leg thanks to an ingenious turn to the north - only to be pushed back a few days later. He was sorry for his team, said skipper Bouwe Bekking contritely, who had sailed "very well". In the end, it was a mistake by him and navigator Andrew Cape that cost them the lead. With 5th place, Brunel lost valuable points to the two teams ahead of them in the overall standings, Abu Dhabi and Dongfeng.

The stage winners from "Mapfre" also experienced ups and downs. After their satellite antenna failed, they were temporarily without weather information. However, they were able to rectify the fault and gradually fight their way to the front. He was "over the moon, over the moon", beamed Xabi Fernandez, who had taken over the skipper role from his long-time sailing partner Iker Martinez on the last two legs. "It was a very tough leg, especially the last few days." While his team had been a little slower than the leaders at the beginning and during the passage of the Rossbreiten, they took the lead on the morning of the last day at sea when Abu Dhabi and Dongfeng were becalmed for a moment.

"We improved a lot on the second and third leg, but we still made a few mistakes," said Fernandez. "I hope we sail like we did last time from now on."