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“Telefónica” fails to satisfy podium hunger in the in port race, although the yacht maintains overall lead and will set off in the lead from Miami for leg start

The seventh leg of the Volvo Ocean Race will kick off this Sunday, and it's set to be the final great ocean leg of this edition of the round the world challenge. However, before heading out to Lisbon (Portugal) an in port race was held in Miami, with disappointing results for the Spanish crew, although now the focus is fully on the 3,590 miles kicking off at 17:00 UTC this Sunday.

Not a minute earlier, not a minute later: at 17:00 UTC sharp this Saturday in Miami “Telefónica” joined the rest of the fleet in taking on a coastal course of 8.2 miles and ten legs in all. 16 knots of southerly winds were blowing and Iker Martínez and his crew set off to the right side of the line, sticking close to the committee boat. This was an in port race with a few surprises in store from start to finish with “Puma” swiping third place from “Camper” almost on the line as well overtaking, losses, comebacks, protests which were thrown out, parallel battles between one boat and then another and three boats taking a mark at the same time, and a drop in breeze to boot...

It was 80 minutes of racing with a bit of everything thrown in for good measure, as well as the unprecedented situation of three of the six boats all leading at some point in the race: first it was “Telefónica”, then “Groupama” from the third mark and on the penultimate leg, “Abu Dhabi” took the lead to go on to win it.

As they took the seventh mark and when “Telefónica” was in third place, the breeze and the current went against the Spanish boat and her crew, forced to look on as the breeze dropped to almost nothing and the current pushed the boat towards the buoy, with the yacht even touching it. As such, Iker Martínez and crew were forced to make a penalty turn of 360º and saw any chances of a win in the race slip away in doing so, forcing the crew to make do with a sixth place finish. At the same point “Puma” made an on the water protest which was thrown out in the moment by the international jury.

The overall standings more even following the Miami In Port

With the seventh in port race of the regatta schedule now over, “Team Telefónica” has added a point to its total and will head off from Miami in the overall lead this Sunday, as it was known beforehand that they would. The French team's second place finish has pushed the boat closer to Iker Martínez and crew, now just seven points away.

The red hot competition in the Volvo Ocean Race rankings can be found at the fourth and third place, held by “Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand” and “Puma” respectively, with just a point between them. The Americans moved ahead almost on the finishing line itself, crossing it eight seconds ahead of the New Zealanders. 

“Everyone is sailing very well now so we're trying to do the best we can. I think that from here until the end of the regatta it's going to be very tight and everything could change in the next leg and could change again in the one after”, concluded Iker Martínez

Time to cross the pond!

17:00 UTC, 13:00 local time will be the hour of truth for the teams. 3,590 miles of North Atlantic sailing lie ahead and a voyage from the American to the European continent. The seventh leg in the Volvo Ocean Race is here, the final big ocean leg of this edition of the regatta with the Atlantic crossing where there will be a concentration of many of the conditions found in the entire round the world regatta, all in the one leg.

Following seven legs everyone is sailing better and each of the teams knows their boat in more depth and the legs are a bit different... According to Iker Martínez, “it's one of the great things about this regatta, that each edition is always different. There's always something new and you have to keep on learning here”.

First they'll have to put the American continent astern to battle with the Gulf Stream. After that there is the Azores anticyclone to grapple with and if the fleet does come across some low pressure, that could mean a lot of breeze and some very big waves: “that's where it could become a leg about finishing and protecting the boat from damage”, warned Martínez.

FINAL RESULTS Miami In Port race (USA)

1. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker). 6 points

2. Groupama sailing team (Franck Cammas). 5 points

3. Puma powered by Berg (Ken Read). 4 points.

4. Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand (Chris Nicholson). 3 points.

5. Team Sanya (Mike Sanderson), 2 points.

6. Team Telefónica (Iker Martínez). 1 point.

PROVISIONAL OVERALL STANDINGS. Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012.

1. Team Telefónica (Iker Martínez), 165 points

2. Groupama sailing team (Franck Cammas), 158 points

3. Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand (Chris Nicholson), 152 points

4. Puma powered by Berg (Ken Read), 151 points

5. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker), 74 points

6. Team Sanya (Mike Sanderson), 27 points