Ian Walker becomes first British skipper to win Volvo Ocean Race
by . on 11 Jun 2015
Onboard Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing - Leg 8 to Lorient – Volvo Ocean Race 2015 Matt Knighton/Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing
Volvo Ocean Race: Team SCA successfully defended their lead all the way across the Biscay Bay in tough conditions, Vestas Wind was second and Abu Dhabi third.
Team SCA skipper, Sam Edwards who lives at Lorient, said on finishing that the impact of the win would not really sink in for the team until they entered the boat harbour at Lorient and saw that there were no other boats berthed and that they were indeed the first.
Team Vestas Wind finished in second place with Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing crossing five minutes later to confirm their overall race win with one leg to sail.
Huge jubilation on board the Emirati boat as they crossed the finish line. Ian Walker becomes the first British skipper to win Volvo Ocean Race.
Mapfre was fourth to finish. Their place relative to Dongfeng and Team Alvimedica and Team Brunel will be tight on the points table, and the three points they have lost from leg 7 and Leg 5 could prove very costly in the final analysis.
ISAF Sailing World Cup: The first day of racing at World Cup Weymouth and Portland sprung a few surprises with an uncommon north eastern breeze testing the fleet. Ranging from 10-15 knots, the breeze coupled with glorious British sunshine, resulted in some exceptional racing on the 2012 Olympic waters.
The stakes have been described as high by the competitors competing in Great Britain and rightly so with internal Rio qualification battles on-going, ISAF Sailing World Cup honours, a share of the prize fund and Abu Dhabi Final spots up for grab.
Racing continues today in the ten Olympic, three Paralympic and Kiteboarding events completing their race schedule on Sunday with Medal Races.
2015 52 Super Series – The Russian boat Bronenosec is currently the leader in the Settimana delle Bocche. Wednesdays hard fought coastal race through Sardinia’s spectacular Maddalena Archipelago saw Azzurra slip back to fourth place overall.
In the second day of racing at the Settimana delle Bocche, a regatta that is part of the 52 Super Series, the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda’s Committee Boat hoisted the warning signal punctually at 12 noon and the coastal race was run in southwesterly winds at 14 to 19 knots, and the fleet of nine TP52s headed towards the Maddalena Island through Passo delle Bisce in beautiful sialing conditions.
Follow the race and take a look at the fabulous pictures by Max Ranchi inside Sail-World.com
Good Sailing
Dan Ibsen
Sail-World UK editor
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