It was a long stop in Sanya, China. Nobody arrived late due to breakages or even travelled by freighter, so the ground crew had time to get the boats back in shape and make a few modifications here and there in order to be as well prepared as possible for leg 4 to Auckland. But apart from the leading Spaniards from Telefónica, none of the teams are satisfied with what they have shown so far. Everyone is hoping for the big breakthrough, but if the weather forecast is correct, they will be lucky not to suffer a break in the end.
Because the upcoming leg is set to start with a bang. Hype or not, just in time for the start, weather forecaster Gonzalo Infante is predicting a thick monsoon with wind speeds of up to 40 knots, which is brewing north of Taiwan and could batter the teams as soon as they leave the sheltered waters of Sanya. "At the moment, only a very small area in the centre of the South China Sea is affected by waves six to eight metres high," explains Infante, "but this condition is likely to spread to the entire sea area by Sunday." He recommends that sailors prepare for survival mode.
This is what the leading Telefónica team is doing, having found weaknesses in the rig during a routine check. As a result, yesterday's practice race was cancelled without further ado in order to change the mast. "We want to be super-safe," reports skipper Iker Martinez, who will once again optimise his team for the upcoming race in order to increase the pressure on rivals Camper and Groupama, who have been waiting in vain for the Spaniards to make a mistake. "We have found something we don't like and have therefore decided to swap for the next leg. We have a replacement rig that we have already used and that we have a lot of confidence in."
Telefónica's lead over Camper is currently 15 points and the New Zealanders want to do everything they can to reduce it on the home leg. "We have to stop giving away points in inshore races," complains team boss Grant Dalton. "If Telefónica keep going the way they are, we'll never beat them, and you don't have to be a genius to realise that." Dalton, who has won this race twice, is expecting a battle for the stage win in Auckland and hopes his boys can finally stop the Spaniards' winning streak in front of their own fans. "That's pressure, but also motivation. If you have to, you can sit on the edge of your seat for two and a half days."
Before the fourth stage
Today the Pro-Am Race is on the programme in Sanya, on Saturday at 07:00 CET the In-Port Race will start and on Sunday at the same time the start of the fourth leg will take place, which leads over 5220 nautical miles to Auckland, New Zealand.
Interim result:
1st Team Telefónica, 95
2nd Camper with Emirates Team NZ, 80
3rd Groupama Sailing Team, 71
4th Puma Ocean Racing by Berg, 48
5th Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, 39
6th Team Sanya, 16
More on the Event page and about the Live stream the YouTube channel and the apps for I-Phone and Android.
Current positions and distances in the Tracker.
