Everything under pressure? It's the hour of the ground crew. After the orgy of failures on the first leg, the three teams affected - Puma, Sanya and Abu Dhabi - worked night shifts to get their boats ready to race and compete again. Things are a lot less hectic at Telefonica, Camper and Groupama, the three boats that were able to complete the leg in good order. The boats are being checked, swapped and tinkered with to get them in top form. In contrast to the average sailors, these three teams can push harder because they have confidence in the stability of their boats. They can't lull themselves into a sense of security.
"It's incredible what has been achieved here in the last 24 hours," enthused Sanya skipper Mike Sanderson, whose boat was given a new bow section. "On the other hand, I also feel some nervousness before the start of the next leg. Four other boats are training and we're just bolting the keel on..." But late yesterday afternoon, the repaired boat, the only one left over from the last Volvo Ocean Race, was afloat again.
All déjà vu? It's not just Sanderson who is feeling queasy, but everyone who has studied the weather forecast, which predicts a whopping seven to eight force winds for the start on Sunday. Such conditions have already forced Abu Dhabi and Sanya to abandon the race at the start of the first leg in the Mediterranean.
Everything in order? Puma erected the new mast in record time and was ready for a first test stroke in the evening. "Whether we will be competitive will depend on what we manage to do in the next few days," says Puma skipper Ken Read. Abu Dhabi, which like Puma and Sanya travelled to Cape Town by boat, but has been in Cape Town a few days longer and has also provided the replacement rig.
The current standings: 1st Team Telefónica 31 points; 2nd Camper 29; 3rd Groupama 22; 4th Abu Dhabi 6; 5th Puma 5; 6th Sanya 3.
There will be a practice race today, but it is not certain that everyone will take part. The organisers have not revealed any details about the route for the second leg to Abu Dhabi, which has been drastically changed to avoid the pirate zone in the Horn of Africa. The programme:
Friday: Pro-Am Race, 12 noon CET
Saturday: In-Port Race, 14:00 CET
Sunday - Start of the 2nd stage, 14:00 CET
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Current positions and distances in the Live tracker.
