Iker Martinez and Telefónica can't do anything wrong at the moment: an easy victory in the second In-Port Race, extending their overall lead and an extra dose of self-confidence for the next stage was the net result on Saturday. That's a whole lot better than the first In-Port Race before the opening stage, in which they failed to finish higher than last place in front of their home crowd. "We are satisfied. It was important to sail well here after the problems in Alicante," said Martinez.
In 15 knots of breeze in Cape Town's Table Bay, the blue boat was already ahead at the start, but had to let the recovered Puma pass in between. Until the gennaker shredded on "Mar Mostro", which caused them to drop back to third place. "The boat was okay, we just messed up," said skipper Ken Read. "But we're back in it and were on the podium. I was pushing too hard and I'll take the blame for that."
Fourth were Abu Dhabi, who, like Puma, were travelling with a new mast, followed by Groupama, whose technical protest against Camper was rejected by the jury. Behind them in last place was the newly "bugged" Sanya.
Summary Inport Race Cape Town
Today at 2 pm CET, the starting gun will be fired for the second leg, which will head towards Abu Dhabi, but will be interrupted at an unspecified location due to the risk of piracy. There, all the boats will be loaded onto a freighter, which will steam to safe waters with an armed escort, where the race will resume. Sounds complicated, but for commercial reasons it is essential for the sponsors. And the music lovers among the sailors are also in favour of this, as they don't want to miss the New Year's party in Abu Dhabi, where Coldplay will perform a few songs.
Overall ranking: 1st Team Telefónica: 37; 2nd Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand: 34; 3rd Groupama Sailing Team: 24; 4th Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing: 9; 5th Puma Ocean Racing: 9; 6th Team Sanya: 4
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