After a two-week break, the six teams started the fourth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race from Sanya/China to Auckland/New Zealand on Sunday. Prior to this, the home team led by skipper Charles Caudrelier won the in-port race off the harbour city with a tactically picture-perfect performance. And this despite the fact that tactician Pascal Bidégorry had to leave the boat. He was replaced by Erwan Israel, who was part of the victorious Groupama crew in the previous race. According to Caudrelier, this was a planned change in order to give Bidégorry a break after the three very strenuous stages so far, before the probably most difficult stage, the fifth stage from New Zealand to Brazil. Three other crew members were also changed, including the two Chinese riders.
Recording of the Inport Race Sanya
Skipper Caudrelier will therefore have to complete the fourth leg with a much-changed crew, although he can really only win. If his boat crosses the finish line at the front again, this would cement his role as favourite among the skippers. If not, he can blame it on the changes in the team.
The recording of the pre-start sequence for the fourth stage
There are 5,264 nautical miles ahead of the six boats, which tackled the fourth leg on Sunday without any major incidents and with little distance between them. The first part in the South China Sea in particular could be a tough one. There are often strong winds against a strong current, which can lead to rough seas. During the 2012 race, Team Telefonica recorded twelve metre high waves there.
Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
