Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, ADOR, the emirate's 2014–2015 Volvo Ocean Race team entrant, made it through a nerve-wracking tense run-in to the finish line to win leg 1 of the round-the-world race from Alicante, Spain to Cape Town, South Africa yesterday.
Ripping across the water at speeds of up to 30 knots in the South Atlantic through most of the leg's last section, ADOR, on-board the yacht Azzam, survived a scare with the finish line in sight, as a huge drop in wind allowed the Chinese team Dongfeng to come within a single nautical mile of the leaders.
But skipper Ian Walker and his crew managed to hold on and battle through less-than perfect conditions to cross the finish line ahead of their rivals to take the victory. During the highly competitive section of leg 1, both teams were clocking up well over 500 miles over 24-hour intervals.
To mark the occasion, Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon al Nahyan, Chairman, Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, which is behind the emirate's Volvo Ocean Race campaign, said, "I followed this opening leg of the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 with fascination. It has been a tremendous contest from the very beginning in Alicante more than 24 days ago, and I, like the team's international and local fans, am so very proud that Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing has emerged victorious. The team has represented Abu Dhabi with distinction, braving incredibly tough conditions in pursuit of excellence.
"ADOR led for much of this amazing leg to South Africa, and that's down to the individual skills of the crew combined with a collective will to win. I hope as many people as possible here in the emirate and across the U.A.E. were cheering Azzam over the finish line in Cape Town," he added.
Adil Khalid, ADOR's Emirati crew member is already looking to repeat the victory in leg 2 when the fleet will sail from Cape Town to Abu Dhabi.
The race fleet is expected in Abu Dhabi in the middle of December when they will be given a warm welcome to their berth at a purpose-built destination village on the U.A.E. capital's Corniche which will be the focus of the city's hosting of the race. The village, which will open on December 12th, will be alive with entertainment, sailing and watersports and is expected to receive more than 100,000 visitors until the fleet sets sail on leg 3 for China on January 3rd.
Source: WAM