We did it. For the first time, the French from Groupama are on the top step of the podium, not the previously dominant Spaniards from Telefonica. After 19 days and 15 hours and more than 5200 miles sailed, they crossed the finish line shortly before midnight local time on Saturday in front of the brightly lit Auckland skyline. It was a commanding victory after a brilliantly sailed leg that Franck Cammas and his team were able to celebrate here. "A great day for Groupama, nice to be first in Auckland," commented Cammas. "The key scene of the stage was the risky decision (at the start) with Puma in the north and it paid off." Second place for Puma after a tough battle, ahead of Telefonica and Camper, with the latter two only a minute and a half apart.
But things almost went wrong for Groupama, as the bow suddenly began to sink away shortly before the finish line. When the watertight bulkhead was opened, it was a shock. "I went below and saw that we had a lot of water in the boat," said Groupama sailor Martin Krite. "Then Brad (Marsh) and I went to look for the leak and found the hole." The two of them sealed it in no time at all, while the rest of the crew got to work on the bilge. It was a heroic act that ultimately secured victory for the French team.
"All the pumps, all the men, all the buckets," reported media man Yann Riou. And Marsh added: "You couldn't tell how much water there was at first, but as soon as we opened the hatch, more of it came in. It's unnerving and at the same time the adrenaline shoots through your veins." Later, the helicopter footage showed that the outer skin in the bow area had started to delaminate due to the pounding and beating in the monster waves.
Meanwhile, out on the Hauraki Gulf, the race continued. "Hopefully the wind gods are in our favour," blogged Puma skipper Ken Read. "But the guys at the back could come along with new wind and make things even more exciting. We're holding our breath." And it was indeed extremely close. Twelve and a half hours after Groupama, Puma crossed the finish line in second place. "My God, it's so nice to be in Auckland," Read said, a stone falling from his heart. Just 48 minutes later, Telefonica was waved off, a paltry one and a half minutes ahead of Camper, who had expected to finish higher than fourth on their home stage. "It was really close, but we ran out of runway at the end," said Camper's disappointed skipper Chris Nicholson. "That was by far the toughest leg so far. Now we're tired but we're home."
A little more than half an hour later Abu Dhabi came in, followed by Sanya, which was waved off 20 minutes later, after having been more than 300 miles behind at one point.
Overall ranking
The leak on Groupama
- Telefónica 121
- Groupama, 103
- Camper 98
- Puma 78
- Abu Dhabi 53
- Sanya 22
This article was originally published on 10 March and subsequently amended
More on the Event page and about the Live stream the YouTube channel.
Current positions and distances in the Tracker.
