Leg 3 Of The Volvo Ocean Race Against Pirates And The Elements Underway

Leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean round the world race is underway with a sprint race out of the marina in  Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates  to Sharjar, the 106 nautical mile, six and a half hour blast was won by Ian Walker’s home team on Azzam, their second victory in two days. Results for this leg so far are in the table below and World Marine Guide will update the race as it unfolds and post the leg results when the yachts reach the Chinese marina of Sanya.

The piracy problem means that the start of this third leg has been redrawn as was the 2nd leg, with the boats once again due to be transported to a safe haven, from where the race will restart. The yachts have now been loaded on to cargo boat, after a delay due to strong desert winds, to be delivered to an unnamed point where the race, leg 3B, will restart.

The tactical battle is likely to commence as the boats spread out on the expected beat across the Bay of Bengal. Amongst the challenges as they negotiate the steep sided Malacca Strait are frequent thunderstorms, alternating squalls and flat calms, as well as the avoidance of a dense armada of commercial shipping and a myriad of small local fishing boats. Having survived the rigours of the straits there will be little time for self congratulation as the final push to the finish in Sanya is likely to be a windy and cold upwind slog.

	LEG 3A *			TOTAL
1		Team Telefónica	3	71
2		CAMPER with Emirates Team NZ	2	64
3		Groupama Sailing Team	4	51
4		PUMA Ocean Racing by BERG	5	36
5		Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing	6	31
6		Team Sanya	-	4
*Provisional points for Stage 1 of Leg 3.

World Marine Guide will be following the yachting and updating the progress of the yachts on there race around the world, Full Race Schedule. Guide to Teams. 

Source Volvo Ocean Racing

http://www.worldmarineguide.com/