Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing scored a commanding victory on home waters on Friday, taking top spot in the Etihad Airways In-Port Race to the delight of thousands of ecstatic fans at the Volvo Ocean Race’s first Middle Eastern stopover.
Abu Dhabi, skippered by Ian Walker, produced a faultless performance along the eight nautical mile course to win in a time of 57 minutes 51 seconds ahead of Groupama sailing team in second and CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand in third.
Walker, twice an Olympic silver medallist for Britain, was joined on board by HRH Prince Andrew and Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan for what was a second victory in three in-port races, following their success in Alicante, Spain.
The enduring image of that victory in Spain was of a jubilant Adil Khalid, the first Emirati sailor to take part in the race, and the 23-year-old Abu Dhabi crewman was at the heart of the action again as waved a giant United Arab Emirates flag to the home crowd before being launched into the water by his team mates.
PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG were fourth and Team Telefónica, the overall race leaders, came in fifth.
Walker said victory made up for the disappointment of arriving into Abu Dhabi at the end of Leg 2 in fifth place.
Franck Cammas’ Groupama sailing team, winners of the Leg 2 second stage sprint into Abu Dhabi, took five points for second place. Chris Nicholson’s CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand took the final podium position and four points, their fifth podium finish of the race so far.
A light southerly breeze of around seven knots greeted the teams as they took to the racetrack in the waters off the Abu Dhabi Destination Village.
In an unusual downwind start, PUMA led off the line but their dreams of a win were all but ended shortly after the start when Ken Read’s team had to take a penalty turn for an infringement involving Team Telefónica.
Abu Dhabi snuck round the first mark ahead, chased by Groupama. The two teams exchanged the lead on the way to the second mark before Abu Dhabi emerged in front. Nothing was going to tear victory from Ian Walker’s hands as he and his crew sailed a perfect race, winning by 57 seconds.
Prince Andrew, Duke of York, was part of the day’s action on-board Abu Dhabi. No stranger to sailing, he served as a helicopter pilot in the British Royal Navy and is Commodore of England’s prestigious Royal Thames Yacht Club. He was patron of the Volvo Ocean Race until 2005-06.
Despite today’s results, the overall leaderboard remains unchanged although CAMPER are now within six points of overall leaders Telefónica.
Saturday sees the start of Leg 3 from Abu Dhabi to Sanya in the Chinese province of Hainan. As with Leg 2 of the race, Leg 3 will be split into two parts to prevent the boats from sailing through dangerous waters off the coast of Africa. Early forecasts are tipping fresh north-west winds of 13 to 16 knots inshore, building to 18 to 22 knots offshore.
Leg 3 Stage 1 starts at 1400 local time (1000 GMT) with the boats racing a short sprint to the northern United Arab Emirates before being loaded onto a ship and transported to a safe haven port in the Indian Ocean. Once the boats are unloaded, racing will resume to Sanya.
Results:
1. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing – 57 minutes 51 seconds – 6 points
2. Groupama sailing team — 58:48 – 5pts
3. CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand – 60:47 – 4pts
4. PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG – 62:22 – 3pts
5. Team Telefónica – 62:47 – 2pts
Overall standings:
1. Team Telefónica 68 points
2. CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand 62
3. Groupama sailing team 47
4. PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG 31
5. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing 25
6. Team Sanya 4*
* If Team Sanya complete Leg 2 Stage 1 under racing conditions they will receive four points for that stage, plus 1 point for Leg 2 Stage 2, and 2 points for the Etihad Airways In-Port Race.
VNR SHOTLIST #1 – ETIHAD AIRWAYS IN-PORT RACE VNR
00:00-00:05 OPEN SLATE
00:05-00:10 Establishing Abu Dhabi shot & UAE Flag
00:10-00:14 Race Village Helicopter Shot
00:15-00:29 Skippers parade with Camels (Ian Walker, Iker Martinez, Chris Nicholson)
00:29-00:35 Prince Andrew walks down dock
00:36-00:41 Helicopter Shot of Fleet
00:41-00:46 Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing dock-out
00:47-00:56 Race Start – Etihad Airways In-Port Race
00:57-01:02 On-board PUMA before race start
01:02-01:06 CAMPER and Groupama after start with spectator boats
01:07-01:12 On-board CAMPER
01:12-01:16 Helicopter fleet shot
01:17-01:25 PUMA does a penalty turn at start
01:26-01:35 Groupama and CAMPER lead at the start
01:36-01:41 View of Groupama, CAMPER and Telefonica
01:41-01:50 Abu Dhabi takes lead at first mark
01:51-02:06 Groupama, CAMPER, Telefonica, then PUMA round first mark
02:07-02:16 View of Abu Dhabi (leaders)
02:16-02:30 Abu Dhabi and Groupama
02:30-02:35 On-board Groupama
02:35-02:38 Helicopter shot of leaders
02:38-02:42 Close-up Abu Dhabi
02:42-02:47 Abu Dhabi rounds Mark 2 followed by Groupama
02:47-02:52 On-board Groupama
02:53-02:57 Groupama, CAMPER rounds Mark 2
02:57-03:07 Telefonica, PUMA round Mark 2 – Telefonica gets jib caught
03:07-03:12 Close-up PUMA
03:12-03:17 Close-up Groupama
03:17-03:22 Mast camera, Abu Dhabi
03:22-03:28 Close-up Adil Khalid, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, near finish
03:28-03:35 Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing approaching finish
03:36-03:40 Ian Walker, Skipper Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing
03:41-03:51 Adil Khalid with UAE flag & team celebration
03:51-04:02 Quote – Ian Walker, Skipper Abu Dhabi
“We just so wanted to win this race and we thought, we were prepared to take some risks to try and win this race, because if we could win this race it would be a very, very special day for everyone.â€
04:02-04:07 END SLATE
VNR SHOTLIST #2 – PRINCE ANDREW VNR
00:00-00:05 Establishing shot & UAE Flag
00:05-00:10 Prince Andrew Walks to Boat
00:10-00:14 Crowd shots
00:15-00:28 Prince Andrew greeting crew of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing
00:29-00:33 Crowd shots
00:34-00:38 Close up of Prince Andrew
00:38-00:41 Preparing for dock-out
00:41-01:02 Quote – Prince Andrew, Duke of York
“This is an excellent opportunity to go sailing. I’ve been following the Ocean Race for a number of years going back. Now, it’s a magnificent challenge and I wish everyone the greatest success. It’s a great privilege to come and join them today.â€
01:03-01:10 Fleet shot before race
01:10-01:20 Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing on water
