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Iker Martínez: “We knew that the distance lost in terms of the finish would be significant, but we think that in a couple of days it will have been for the best; it's a decision taken with a view to two days ahead"

With Sri Lanka now behind them and 750 miles ahead to the Strait of Malacca, last night “Telefónica” played out a new move and chose to place their bets on an option further ahead. The Spanish yacht surprised everyone by tacking North to put herself further windward than any of the other fleet entries, almost exactly in line with the second-placed entry in the fleet, the yacht from New Zealand: “Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand”.

 
On a night where a cloud also conditioned the fleet, impacting negatively on everyone, the Spanish boat sacrificed some ten miles by sailing to the North, well in the knowledge that the move may mean a loss in miles to the finish and a subsequent impact on the upcoming position readings: “It's been hard because a port tack meant getting much closer to Malacca, so we've lost a fair bit of distance to the finish, but we think that in a couple of days it will have proved a move for the best...” explained “Telefónica” Skipper Iker Martínez in an email from on board the yacht. This is a decision taken with a view to a few days time, rather than an option based on instant results, so what's left now is to wait patiently to see if the move pays off.
 
That's why on the Spanish boat Martínez has underlined that “we were waiting for a shift in breeze that's coming in and we thought that this was the best move for when we approach the Malacca Strait in a couple of days' time. This is a decision based more on to days ahead than on what's going to happen today.”
 
For the time being “Telefónica” is 18 miles from the provisional frontrunner, the North American yacht “Puma”. The Spanish and the yacht from New Zealand are the boats furthest North in the fleet.
 
“Full on close-hauled all the way”
At average speeds of 12.4 knots Martínez described the situation on board: “We've got a bit more breeze now and we're full on close-hauled all the way and pointing to where we want to go.”
 
Since early this morning all of the fleet is on almost the same heading: 80º ENE-E and pointing towards one of the obligatory waypoints on the route: Pulau We, North of Sumatra and one of the islands belonging to Indonesia.
 
That's where the Strait of Malacca begins, some 432 miles (800 km) in length, although Iker warns that “we've still got 2,500 miles to go until the end of the leg and some 750 until we get to Malacca. Now we've got to keep on fighting and to see if we can move in on the boats in front, to keep the gaps small enough so that once we are in the Malacca Strait with the unstable conditions there, we can get up close.”
 
“We're slowly brushing off the rust. It's very hot andwe are trying to go as fast as we can so that we are not delayed any further, because the whole boom fiasco has meant that we've dropped back a considerable distance,” concluded the skipper of ESP-1.
 
 
PROVISIONAL RANKINGS STAGE 2 - LEG 3
Day 3 – 16:00 UTC – 24^th January 2012
 
1 Puma Ocean Racing (Ken Read), 2,358.6 miles from finish
2 Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand (Chris Nicholson), +3.2 miles from leader
3 Groupama Sailing Team (Franck Cammas), +5.4 miles
4 Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker), +15.6 miles
5 Team Telefónica (Iker Martínez), +18.4 miles
6 Team Sanya (Mike Sanderson), +23.6 miles