Volvo Ocean Race down to four boats

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing retired from the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race this weekend after rejoining the race just 24 hours previously following a dis-masting shortly after the start.

This leaves just four of the fleet of six still racing the first stage, the 6,500-nautical mile leg from Alicante, Spain to Cape Town. Team Sanya also pulled out after suffering substantial damage to the boat’s hull on Sunday.

The decision will give the team enough time to ensure the boat and the team are 100 percent ready for the Cape Town in-port race on 10th December.

Abu Dhabi’s shore crew worked around the clock to replace a mast broken in three places on Saturday night, around six hours after the leg start, when the boat crashed into a huge wave sailing in the Mediterranean towards Gibraltar.

Skipper Ian Walker explained: “Since dis-masting shortly after the start on Saturday our team and Future Masts have worked tirelessly to fit our spare mast and examine the cause of the original mast failure.

“We need time to make modifications to our rigging system in Cape Town and the only way we can gain that time is to travel to Cape Town by ship. This has been one of the hardest decisions of my life to make but I have to consider not only the safety of the crew but the long term interests of the project.”

The British double Olympic silver medallist continued: “This is only the first leg of a long race and with this decision and a lot of hard work we can be race ready for the second leg.

“I am particularly sad as this is my favourite leg of the race and the whole crew had been looking forward so much to it. I wish all the teams left in the leg fair winds and we will be there to greet them in Cape Town.”