Volvo Ocean Race: Sanya in Sight

(January 26, 2015; Day 24) – The end of the road is nearly upon Dongfeng as they approach the Sanya finish line of this 4,642 nm Volvo Ocean Race leg that began in Abu Dhabi on January 3.

The fleet has been aiming at Sanya for just over a day, with the pecking order established when they exited the coast of Vietnam. Now beam reaching in 8 to 10 knots from the east, there appears to be little to disrupt the podium positions. The only question remaining could be if Brunel can pass MAPRE from their position a mile to leeward.

Due to the light conditions throughout the leg, teams have been carefully watching their supplies, with Abu Dhabi having hit the wall today. “We ran out of food bags today so no chocolate bars or sweets,” reports Matt Knighton. “More importantly, we’re down to our last roll of toilet paper. We sawed a roll of paper towels in half to see us through.”

Leg 3 (4,642 nm) Position Report (as of 23:07 UTC)
1. Dongfeng Race Team, Charles Caudrelier (FRA), 2.8 nm Distance to Finish
2. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, Ian Walker (GBR), 45.6 nm Distance to Lead
3. Team Alvimedica, Charlie Enright (USA), 58.7 nm DTL
4. MAPFRE, Iker Martinez (ESP), 66.2 nm DTL
5. Team Brunel, Bouwe Bekking (NED), 67.4 nm DTL
6. Team SCA, Sam Davies (GBR), 152.3 DTL
7. Team Vestas Wind, Chris Nicholson (AUS), Did not start

Race website – Tracking – Scoreboard – Videos

Background: The fleet is now on Leg 3 from Abu Dhabi, UAE to Sanya, China (4,642 nm), which started Jan. 3 with an ETA on Jan. 26-27. The 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race began in Alicante, Spain on Oct. 11 with the final finish on June 27 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Racing the new one design Volvo Ocean 65, seven teams will be scoring points in 9 offshore legs to determine the overall Volvo Ocean Race winner. Additionally, the teams will compete in 10 In-Port races at each stopover for a separate competition – the Volvo Ocean Race In-Port Series.