Leg 3 - Part 1: Analysis by the Volvo Ocean Race crews

"Throughout this race, it was a very closely fought battle: we had a very good upwind stretch but ultimately the standing at the first windward mark certainly didn't reflect the end result... Everything came down to the final spinnaker run and the final gybe off Sharjah: everything that happened prior to that didn't really serve for much! We found ourselves in second position just behind Telefonica, which had a good lead at the end of the long reaching section: at the finish, the Spanish had dropped three places while we dropped one. Those that came off the best were the Americans on Puma and above all Abu Dhabi, which is back on form and really flying!
It was an interesting race because everyone remained in contact: we were able to carry out some trials on the sail configurations and we very quickly saw the effects on the boat's performance. Not everything turned out well but at least we now know what we mustn't do... We also had an issue with hoisting the gennaker because of poor packing and we had to make three attempts at it: that probably caused us to lose the leadership against Abu Dhabi.
The result of this race practically corresponds with the reverse of the overall standing in terms of points but we've learnt a great deal" said the skipper of Groupama 4, Franck Cammas on arriving in Sharjah.

"It was a very fine race and Puma, like Abu Dhabi, were very impressive as they were really on the pace. There were lots of upsets in the ranking, some calling into question and, on our part we made some good calls and one poor manoeuvre which cost us two places. The sentiment is that we have a very good boat but we need to anticipate even more than we are doing and be more focused: the level is very high and you can't get away with making any mistakes.
After almost seven hours of racing, everyone is knackered! There was a lot of tension and pressure because we were really neck and neck. I missed this contact and it's very exciting: it's racing in its purest state and it's very different to the offshore formats. We're managing to put up a consistent performance, always or almost always on the podium, whilst discovering points we can improve on. I think we're on a real upward cycle but there is increasing pressure from our rivals" adds Thomas Coville at the end of this 106-mile coastal course.

The winner of this race confirmed the overall impression of the five teams present in Abu Dhabi: "Everyone can see that there are five very good boats and five very good crews: it's very easy to finish last. We though that Telefonica was going to win this race given its lead, but there are some big players behind and you can't afford to make mistakes!" stated Ian Walker, skipper of Abu Dhabi. Ken Read, who finished second aboard Puma was pleased with their performance too: "For sure we were very quick on a reach. The improvements that we've made to the boat have borne fruit and we're satisfied with that. Tactically, on a long section with eased sheets, we sailed well and that was a pleasant comeback for the crew." Iker Martinez, helmsman on Telefonica, explained their comeback down the home straight: "One of our sails fell in the water and we had to slow down to deal with that: we lost our boat speed and the boats behind very quickly gained on us. We lost our position as leader but ultimately we're very close to each other in terms of performance. It's a bit frustrating to have had to deal with that, but it happens from time to time..."

This Sunday, the five VO-70s are to be loaded onto the cargo ship in Sharjah to make for the secret port in the Indian Ocean, which they're set to reach at the end of the week. The start of the second part of this third leg is scheduled for Monday 23 January with the final destination of China. Meantime, Sanya, which had to make a stopover in Madagascar to repair her rig, is heading for the same port in race mode, and is set to join up with the rest of the fleet there for the rest of this 3,000 mile course. It will take about a fortnight to complete this oceanic race which will again see its course split into two sections. The first section will go as far as Malaysia in a moderate Northerly providing reaching conditions, whilst the second half will involve a beat into light NE'ly winds.