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The first few miles of the fourth leg to Auckland and sights are on the northern Philippines, the first obligatory waypoint on the course

Early this morning in Sanya (China), 23:00 UTC and “Telefónica” resumed her route on this fourth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. The Spanish entry was the first in the fleet to leave the Chinese city and to finally set sail for Auckland (New Zealand), the end of the leg that will take the round the world fleet of yachts to the 'City of Sails' for the eighth time in the history of this regatta.

The boat skippered by Iker Martínez resumed the race with the northern Philippines as the first obligatory waypoint on the leg routing. The first part of the course will be some 600 nautical miles, and according to navigator Andrew Cape there will be some monsoon winds of 20 knots thanks to the 13 hour start delay, and the fleet have already started the tough upwind stretch of racing.

The re-start at Sanya took place with light airs which soon switched to upwind sailing with Cape's predictions proving to be spot on: 20 knots of breeze and waves of almost 5 metres. Four hours after “Telefónica” put the the lighthouse marking the start behind her, Diego Fructuoso, the team's MCM was already reporting some difficulties with the sailing on board the Spanish boat: “We're now sailing upwind with the J2 up and the main sail, but the swell is tricky. It feels like everything's going to fall apart at any minute and we've only just started!”.

For now French boat “Groupama” is leading the first steps of the leg, one which looks set to last some 18 to 20 days. Following the entry and further South at 1.7 miles away is “Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand” who will do everything they can to make their homecoming in first place. “Telefónica” with Iker Martínez is in fourth  place, 7.6 miles from the provisional leader, but maintaining higher speeds than “Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand” and “Abu Dhabi”, third. According to the 16:00 UTC position report, the Spaniards are sailing at 11.3 knots.

On board Spanish boat “Telefónica” the crew are hoping to reach the obligatory waypoint at the Philippines in a couple of days' time and they are well aware of the importance of keeping the boat in one piece. Diego was clear about that today: “We are all very clear on how important the leg is, both in terms of taking care of the boat as well as in terms of the available points in play”.

Thank you Sanya!

The “Telefónica” crew arrived in Sanya as winners of the third leg back on the 4^th of February and since then, the team has spent 16 days in China, living among the population of Sanya, with their local customs, traditions and their hospitality.

Diego Fructuoso, himself from Murcia Spain was keen to mention that and in his report today from on board the boat he wrote: “We'd like to thank the people of Sanya for treating us so well. Although there was a significant language barrier, we were very happy there. We'd like to thank our chauffeur 'Manolito' who took us from the hotel to the port, our interpreter Thye, the staff at the hotel and above all everyone who came down to the Race Village who were constantly offering their support”.

PROVISIONAL RANKINGS LEG 4

SANYA (CHINA) – AUCKLAND (NEW ZEALAND): 5,220 miles

Day 1 – 16:00 UTC – 20^th February 2011

1 Groupama Sailing Team (Franck Cammas), 5,039 miles from finish

2 Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand (Chris Nicholson), +1.7 miles

3 Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker), +6.3 miles

3 Team Telefónica (Iker Martínez), +7.6 miles

5 Team Sanya (Mike Sanderson), +12.4 miles

6 Puma Ocean Racing (Ken Read), +21.1 miles