Hong Kong here we come – Mapfre set up nicely for city journey after beating China’s Dongfeng in Volvo Ocean Race third leg
The Spanish team once again come from behind against the mainland boat to win the journey from Cape Town to Melbourne
The crew of Spanish entry Mapfre have set themselves up nicely for their next major trip to Hong Kong after storming to an impressive victory in the third leg of the Volvo Ocean Race.
Skipper Xabi Fernandez and his crew outfoxed China-based Dongfeng Race Team over final days of their epic 6,500-nautical-mile charge from Cape Town, in South Africa, to Melbourne in Australia in which boats took on the challenging Southern Ocean.
As of noon (Hong Kong time) on Monday, three boats had yet to reach Melbourne – Hong Kong’s Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag, Turn the Tide on Plastic (TTP) and Team AkzoNobel.
Scallywag and TTP were battling for fifth place with the Hong Kong boat slightly ahead but they were caught in an area of light winds on the final stretch to Melbourne. AkzoNobel was much farther south and is unlikely to catch either Scallywag or TTP.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH ANIMATION OF VOLVO OCEAN RACE THIRD LEG
Mapfre, meanwhile, took advantage of technical problems for Dongfeng, as well as their world-class sailing skills, to surge ahead of the Chinese team with a number of manoeuvres that saw them finish at least 100 miles in front.
“We had to fight very hard for this victory,” said Xabi Fernandez said. ”There’s so much of the race to go. But for now it’s looking good and we’re very happy of course.
“The strongest point for this team is the group of people we have. They are so good and give us so much and have been working so hard on this leg.”