The Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing team yesterday won the first leg victory in the Volvo Ocean Race which involved sailing in extreme weather conditions from Alicante (Spain) to Cape Town,
writes Trish Whelan.
Many of the crews in the fleet have barely snatched a wink of sleep for nearly 48 hours in the final stages of the epic journey which began on 10 October and involved a 6,487-nautical mile stage.
There have been many close finishes in the 41-year history of the event, but few will have been quite so tense for the victors who had been feeling the hot breath of Dongfeng Race Team down their necks for the best part of the last week.
The victors, skippered by Ian Walker (GBR and who has won two Olympic silver medals in his career) crossed the line just 12 minutes before the Chinese boat Dongfeng, after 25 days, three hours and 10 minutes of sailing.
