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The Spaniards have successfully got through the first night in the squall that they are immersed in and are now on the final 1,000 miles sprint between Alicante and Cape Town

A course of almost pure East and pushing through the '1,000 miles to Cape Town' mark. “Telefónica” has crossed the Greenwich Meridian, meaning also that the boat has moved into Eastern latitudes, being the first of the race entries to do so.

Iker Martínez's crew is now breathing more calmly having got through what was set to be a very tricky night, “probably the toughest night on the leg” Iker warned yesterday. The “Telefónica” guys had prepared by filling up on food and liquids and trying to get as much rest as possible to be as 'fresh' as they could for what was ahead.

From yesterday at 16:00 GMT to today, Thursday at the same time, Iker Martínez and co. had covered a total of 536.2 nautical miles, reaching average speeds of 25 knots (46.3 km/h).

“Telefónica” continues to be the boat positioned furthest South in the fleet and has “Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand” sailing parallel to her, although the New Zealanders are some 85 miles further North and are almost 99 miles away from the Spaniards.

Minds on the finish…

Keeping up the pace will be crucial over the coming hours to be able to start thinking about crossing that finishing line and getting to the cool waters of Cape Town. There are now less than 1,000 miles to go to the end of the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. It may sound like a big number, but “Telefónica” has sailed over 5,500 nautical miles so far (10,186 km).

Of course, following 20 days at sea, the “Telefónica” crew have started to think about when they'll step off onto dry land. The Media Crew Member, Diego Fructuoso interviewed the guys one by one yesterday to ask them what they are most looking forward to once they get to Cape Town.

They may have all had different ways of expressing it, but the overall answer was unanimous: family. Some were looking forward to being with them, others wouldn't be able to be with them and were looking forward to a telephone call.

Another common theme was a cold beer and a good steak, as well as a shower. “After 20 days at sea there's quite a smell on here”, joked Iker. Pepe Ribes replied that after seeing his wife Sandra and his son Pepe, the thing that he was most looking forward to was holding the leg winner's flag. Interestingly, Xabi mentioned the next leg: “A change of clothes because I've had the same waterproofs on for 20 days, seeing my wife and children, trying to rest so that I can get ready for the next leg”.

PROVISIONAL RANKINGS LEG 1

ALICANTE (SPAIN) – CAPE TOWN (SOUTH AFRICA): 6,500 miles

Day 20 – 16:00 GMT – 24^th November 2011

1^. Team Telefónica (Iker Martínez), 952.6 miles from leg finish

2^. Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand (Chris Nicholson), + 98.8 miles from leader

3^. Groupama Sailing Team (Franck Cammas), + 344.4 miles

Puma Ocean Racing (Ken Read), Retired from Leg 1

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker), Retired from Leg 1

Team Sanya (Mike Sanderson), Retired from Leg 1