Volvo Ocean Race: Telefonica fails, Puma leads

It was a black Sunday for the Spanish skipper of Telefonica. After an initially mediocre start, his team clearly dominated the in-port race later on and had already sailed into a good lead when it happened at a windward mark rounding: Martinez took the wrong mark, had to recover the gennaker and sail back to the right mark. All the other yachts passed him and the overall leader finished the in-port race in last place, far behind.

The Spaniard, an Olympic medallist in the 49er and therefore very familiar with regatta courses and possible course changes, was suitably contrite afterwards: "I'm very disappointed. It's the first time something like this has happened to me." The mistake came about because the race committee laid out a new windward mark during the race and there were two buoys on the water at the time of the rounding. Martinez commented: "It was quite confusing. There were two buoys close together. But when I went round the buoy, I couldn't see the other one because of all the spectator boats nearby." It was only when the spinnaker was already up that navigator Andrew Cape realised the mistake.

The French team from Groupama benefited from the embarrassing slip-up and took the win ahead of Camper, Puma, Abu Dhabi and Telefonica. Franck Cammas' team was able to close the gap to the leading Telefonica by four points to 16 with the in-port victory. A small consolation after the French team almost won the last stage before their mast broke shortly before the finish. Ken Read's team on Puma had made a strong start but suffered a protest and lost valuable ground as a result of the due curl.

But the skirmish over the buoys was already forgotten yesterday, as the boats set off on the 4800 nautical mile leg from Brazil to Miami. There were good reaching conditions at the start, which Puma used to take a narrow lead. However, all five boats are sailing just six nautical miles apart. It should be an exciting leg, predicts camper navigator Will Oxley: "The course is a minefield of possibilities. A lot to gain or a lot to lose. It will be light winds at the start and we're expecting a lot of gybes."