1 hour 35 minutes separates the 'chasing pack'

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and Team Alvimedica complete the podium on the Volvo Ocean Race's third leg

Following Dongfeng Race Team's victory into Sanya, the 'chasing pack' has been streaming across the Volvo Ocean Race's leg 3 finish.

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing led this group finishing at 02:50 UTC (10:50 local), three hours and 19 minutes after Dongfeng Race Team with Team Alvimedica scoring her best result of the race so far arriving just over an hour later. MAPFRE claimed fourth place, 32 minutes later with Team Brunel hot on her heels, arriving just under two minutes later, her worst result in the Volvo Ocean Race so far.

Despite having to settle for second place, Abu Ocean Ocean Racing skipper Ian Walker said he and the crew were pleased with the result.  “This has been far and away the closest leg we have ever sailed,” said a weary but smiling skipper on the dock in Sanya. “We have pretty much been in sight of MAPFRE and Team Brunel since Sri Lanka two weeks ago - and then Alvimedica hove into view and joined the fray as we arrived at ‘Pula We’ [turning mark at the north end of the Strait of Malacca].

“With Dongfeng so far ahead and effectively out of range during the second half of the leg, it was vital we held off the chasing pack as we approached China - we’ve really won the ‘race within a race’ here, and we’re pleased with that. It’s another podium, and keeps us right on track at the top end of the Race leaderboard.”

As to how Dongfeng managed to gain her lead Walker confessed: “We were sailing Azzam wrong in light winds and we didn’t figure it out until Sri Lanka. This let Dongfeng get away and allowed MAPFRE and Team Alvimedica back into it.”

After spending some nervous days and nights dodging fishing nets and other debris in the Strait of Malacca, Azzam emerged in second place from the melee of commercial shipping off Singapore as the fleet took on the final upwind section towards Sanya.

Revelling in the stronger winds, Walker’s crew consolidated their position in the South China Sea and after a frantic night of short tacking through more fishing boats immediately off the Vietnamese coast, Azzam led its nearest rival by almost 10 miles when they tacked towards Sanya for the final time.

Walker continued: “We’re in a good place - our plan since the race began was to always finish on the podium, so after three legs we are exactly where we want to be. There are two thirds of the race still to go and we will be sticking to our plan as we move forward.”

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing came out top in the IWC Schaffhausen 24-hour Speed Record Challenge for Leg 3, after recording the longest run – 337.7 miles - for a 24-hour period.

Leg 3 saw Team Alvimedica's first  podium. The Turkish-American team protected its position on the final stretch to Sanya after a hard-fought race where the closest rivals were in sight of each throughout much of the final 10 days to Sanya, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing placed second and Team Alvimedica earned third.

Skipper Charlie Enright commented: “It was a combination of things – our boat speed was better in certain conditions, our crew was gelling better and we were working in a more efficient way. We were really determined to improve our performance from the first two offshore legs and it paid off today. The guys really dug deep short-tacking up the coast of Vietnam to maintain our position across the South China Sea into Sanya. I am really proud of the guys and how hard everyone worked together to get this result.”

After coping with light air sailing across the Bay of Bengal, the fleet had to face one of the top three busiest shipping lanes in the world – the notoriously difficult Malacca Strait. Before entering the Strait, Enright said he was steeling himself for potentially the most challenging part of the entire circumnavigation with the need to be ready for changing sails, changing game plans, avoiding ships and fishing boats, and sleepless nights. This placed particular stress on Navigator Will Oxley, who said while the crew was aware of other teams behind in hot pursuit, they made the decisions based on what was happening ahead. “We sailed our race looking forward not looking back. The improvement in boat speed and communication came together on Leg 3 to improve our overall performance on what was likely the most mentally challenging and stressful leg of the entire race.”

Fifth place on this leg has been severe set back for Bouwe Bekking and the crew of Team Brunel. As the race veteran observed: "Finishing this leg in fifth position is a bad result for us. We didn’t do well enough on the decisive moments. Near Sri Lanka we parked up due to a lack of wind while the other boats behind us did have wind. You can’t control all circumstances but it’s very frustrating when your pursuers are able to catch up if you have a comfortable lead on them.

“The Automatic Identification System (AIS) also is a disadvantage. Every team has an AIS aboard, broadcasting the position and the speed of the boat. Because of this system other ships exactly see what you are doing on a digital nautical chart within a 12 Nm range. This means our competitors are also watching our every move and the other way around. In previous editions of the Volvo Ocean Race we were allowed to turn off the AIS but this edition that is prohibited. As a consequence the entire fleet is closely monitoring each other, resulting in tacking and gybing at exactly the same moment.”

According to Bouwe Bekking the vibe aboard Team Brunel was great despite the disappointing result. “We are happy that we safely arrived in Sanya and that we docked the boat in good shape. You win some, you lose some. And this one we lost. It should not have happened but we are looking forward to the next leg!”

Gerd-Jan Poortman is glad Leg 3 is over. “I was dreading this leg from the moment we started the Volvo Ocean Race in Alicante. We had to deal with very light winds and it was extremely hot. At the start of this leg we were sailing in second position but by making wrong decisions the rest of the fleet was able to overtake us. For example, we received a weather forecast in the Singapore strait and interpreted it differently than the other teams. The entire fleet except us was cutting the corner. This turned out to be a wrong decision.

"From that moment on we only sailed upwind and it was difficult to catch up with the rest of the fleet because the boats are identical and the speed differences are limited. We fought until the very end with MAPFRE for the fourth place. Yesterday evening we were more than seven miles behind but we managed to get closer and closer. This leg turned out to be a bit to short for us. But hey, that’s sailing. They beat us fair and square.”

During the first part of the leg Team Brunel’s navigator Andrew Cape almost never slept. Staring at his computer screen full of complicated lines, he planned the route along the Iranian and Pakistani coastlines.

The following days the fleet was heading south on to the Arabian Sea. To the disappointment of the team, the waters where strongly polluted with waste here. “Every 37 seconds I saw a piece of rubbish floating by,” said Bouwe Bekking. Some days later the fleet struggled in the hole of no wind in the middle of the Bay of Bengal. The light conditions were really annoying for the boys. The extreme heat made the daily life aboard Team Brunel difficult.

After passing the waypoint of Pulau Weh island, the pack was entering the hazardous Strait of Malacca, one of the busiest shipping lanes of the world. The challenge was to find the quickest route around all those ships and the floating waste. “It's a nightmare for any navigator. Nobody wants to be there,” Andrew Cape said. Team Brunel sailed two days later as third into the South China Sea. Dongfeng Race Team was still in front and the four boats following behind were now only a few miles apart.

The crews now have less than two weeks to get ready before the Sanya In-Port Race on 7 February before the start of leg 4 on 8 February to Auckland, New Zealand.

More photos from Rick Tomlinson / www.rick-tomlinson.com