For a man whose boat finished only fifth in the transatlantic Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing skipper Ian Walker was sporting a surprisingly large smile on Thursday (full story below).<\/p>\n
– Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing still sitting pretty after fifth place finish<\/p>\n
– Caudrelier plans family time to shake off disappointment<\/p>\n
– Team Alvimedica triumphed in \u2018knife fight with spoons\u2019<\/p>\n
– The Boys in Blue are back in the Race<\/p>\n
LISBON, Portugal, May 28 \u2013 For a man whose boat finished only fifth in the transatlantic Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing skipper Ian Walker was sporting a surprisingly large smile on Thursday.<\/p>\n
In the last edition in 2011-12, the Briton had entered Lisbon as leg winner and the Portuguese capital also has special importance for him as his crew\u2019s European pre-race training base.<\/p>\n
But there was not a particularly happy \u2018homecoming\u2019 for Walker and his seven crew members just after dawn on Wednesday, as they trailed disappointingly in the wake of Team Brunel (Bouwe Bekking\/NED), who in turn only just saw off a challenge from MAPFRE (Iker Mart\u00ednez\/ESP) to cross the finish line first after the 2,800-nautical mile stage.<\/p>\n
Yet still, Walker and his men were beaming like winners. \u201cYes, it was a very difficult leg for us, very frustrating. In fact, the best bit of it was getting off the boat at the end,\u201d he joked.<\/p>\n
But thanks to Team Alvimedica (Charlie Enright\/USA) who took the third podium slot after what their skipper described as a \u201cknife fight with spoons\u201d against Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier\/FRA) in a slow-motion battle into port, Walker\u2019s mood remained buoyant.<\/p>\n
The Chinese-backed boat\u2019s fourth place in a leg, which they had led for long periods, meant that Caudrelier and his crew only took one point away from Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing\u2019s six-point overall lead and Walker continues to occupy a very strong position indeed with two \u2018sprint\u2019 legs remaining.<\/p>\n
Walker told a news conference after the arrivals: \u201cI was proud of the guys. Everyone kept fighting and it just shows how you have to keep fighting. We could have even got third out of that finish after a week of torture.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt one point it looked like Dongfeng could have won the leg and we could have finished fifth or sixth, so in many ways we got out of jail and I don\u2019t think we had a lot of unhappy faces at the end.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve now got two legs to go and we\u2019re five points ahead. I\u2019d have bitten your arm off if somebody had offered me that in Newport at the beginning of the leg, let alone at the start of the race.\u201d<\/p>\n
Enright was also in good humour after winning their thrilling dogfight with Dongfeng Race Team over the final miles, following a botched manouevre by Caudrelier\u2019s crew.<\/p>\n
His boat catapulted from fifth overnight to claim their third podium finish of the race so far.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a very good morning for us, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d he conceded. \u201cWe had a ridiculous, excruciating 20-tack game of attack-and-go with Dongfeng. I told Charles it was like a knife fight with spoons. It was all pretty sloppy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caudrelier was trying to find some comfort after watching a vital point slip through his fingers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are still second overall, and for sure, we will try to fight to keep this place and hopefully come back,\u201d he told the conference.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, I\u2019m trying to control my anger. But I will see my family and try to forget everything and be positive for my team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Team Vestas Wind\u2019s Australian skipper Chris Nicholson was excited at the prospect of seeing his totally rebuilt boat returning to sailing on Saturday (May 30), after their collision with a reef in the Indian Ocean on Leg 2 on November 29.<\/p>\n
He is still taking nothing for granted after being out of the water for so many stages while the reconstruction took place in Persico\u2019s boatyard in Bergamo, Italy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to be out on the water and make sure we\u2019re reliable for the race. At the moment, touch wood, everything looks on track for that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Nicholson’s team has a week to prepare for the following Saturday\u2019s Lisbon In-Port Race before joining the rest of the fleet for the Leg 8 departure for Lorient on June 7.<\/p>\n
via Walker’s get-out-of-jail card| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For a man whose boat finished only fifth in the transatlantic Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing skipper Ian Walker was sporting a surprisingly large smile on Thursday (full story below). – Abu Dhabi Ocean … Continue reading