The waters of Table Bay had only just calmed from the influx of Volvo Ocean Race yachts, but then the bay below Cape Town’s Table Mountain swirled up once again for another riveting in-port race.
A dramatic early tactical move from the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (ADOR) yacht Azzam proved decisive, and Ian Walker’s crew cruised to victory in tricky conditions. Fluctuating winds of up to 25 knots kept Walker and his team on their toes, and his astute early reaction to the changing weather meant that Azzam triumphed over Team Brunel – who came in a substantial one minute and three seconds behind the Abu Dhabi team.
And despite the race playing no part in the final Volvo Ocean Race results, the win was well received by Walker and his team.
“We got a great start and that gave us a jump on the rest of the fleet,” said Walker. “But there were plenty of potholes to dodge along the way. It was very squally and unpredictable out there and we couldn’t relax for a second. What ultimately pulled us through was great crew work and boat handling; I asked a lot of the crew and they came through brilliantly.”
The hour-long race merely warmed up the crew’s fingers, as Leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race sees Azzam – meaning ‘determination’ in Arabic – attack the 6,125 nautical miles of open ocean racing to Abu Dhabi. And with a double victory in Cape Town, Walker and his crew will need all the ‘azzam’ possible if they want to arrive as victors, because rival teams will no doubt want to scupper another ADOR win – especially when the next stop is Azzam’s home port.
