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The met forecasts have established a zone of light airs near Auckland which could switch things up in terms of the finish

At the height of New Caledonia “Telefónica” with Iker Martínez is hoping that on the approach to Auckland (New Zealand) the breeze will drop significantly, as the latest forecasts indicate. “Depending on the breeze anything can happen”, commented Iker Martínez in a telephone interview, and according to the Spanish team's skipper: “We've still got 1,300 miles to go and we're likely to come up against some light breeze further ahead and we're hoping that this could play in our favour in terms of the fleet”.

The past 24 hours haven't been easy for “Telefónica”, with the team beginning to gain East and moving in as such to form part of the pack lead by French boat “Groupama”. Following hours of hard work and maximum effort, according to the 13:00 UTC position report the boat headed up by Iker Martínez has again picked up the pace and is sailing at almost two knots faster than America's “Puma”, just 53 miles ahead of the Spanish yacht's bow. “Now we've got some good breeze here and we're pointing South and moving forward at a good pace. We're very happy and we're in a good position now”, said Iker from on board the boat.

One thousand important miles

With approximately one thousand miles to go until the finish at Auckland (New Zealand), “Telefónica” is hoping that at least this time the forecasts will come good. On this occasion they could be extremely positive for the Spanish crew, currently defending their position with all their might.

A considerable drop in breeze at the height of Auckland may mean a regrouping of the fleet, opening up play for “Telefónica” who will make the most of any opportunity that comes their way.

“From hereon the racing is going to get really interesting” said Iker Martínez, who also said that “at the end of the leg all of the teams are watching each other closely and keeping a very close eye on the forecasts. 'Groupama' has a good lead and unless something drastic happens they should be able to cross the finishing line in the lead”.

Whilst 'Groupama' appears to have an untouchable lead, Iker Martínez says: “We are a lot closer to 'Puma' but we have to wait for five or ten hours more until maybe the breeze sticks a bit more for everyone and we'll see how strong our position really is in the fleet. In any case, knowing that we're going to have light airs towards the end of the leg I thin kthat everyone's going to slow down, even 'Groupama' and they're in a very strong position. It will all depend on the breeze. If nothing changes I think that the difference they have is enough to be able to hold onto the lead, but if they stop then it might even be possible to catch up with them, but as I said, it all depends on the breeze”.

A new situation and the next few days are expected to be tremendously tricky, especially because, as Diego Fructuoso comments: “Cape is expecting the breeze to be fairly unstable and light, which would mean that we would get to Auckland later than expected”.

Everything ready in Auckland

Whilst “Telefónica” is taking on the final stretch of the leg, the shore team has been busy setting everything up in Auckland and everything is being made ready for ESP 1 to be prepared to take on the in-port race which will be held on the 17^th March in the 'city of sails' and then the start of the fifth leg to Itajaí (Brazil), what will be the longest leg in this edition of the Volvo Ocean Race.

As such, work on board “Telefónica” is being undertaken at a hurtling pace, with the crew collecting data so that as soon as the boat reaches port the shore crew will be able to worl on the most important aspects of the boat. “On the boat we're all thinking about the things that we need to improve during the next stopover. As I said before, we have very little time, so we have to have everything as well-prepared as possible. Each of us has been making a list of things that need looking at and we speak to Pepe so that he can pass the information onto Horacio”, explained Fructuoso in his daily report. 

PROVISIONAL RANKINGS LEG 4

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

Day 16 – 13:00 UTC – 6^th March 2012

1 Groupama Sailing Team (Franck Cammas), 1,034.5 miles from finish

2 Puma Ocean Racing (Ken Read), +112 miles

3 Team Telefónica (Iker Martínez), +165.4 miles

4 Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand (Chris Nicholson), +218.7 miles

5 Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker), +255.7 miles

6 Team Sanya (Mike Sanderson), +391 miles