Volvo Ocean Race- Camper takes second In-port race in Cape Town

by Thomas Pryor on 11 Dec 2011
Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand has secured second place in the Cape Town in-port race as action kicks off again in the Volvo Ocean Race.

In champagne sailing conditions on Table Bay of a steady 15 to 20 knot south westerly Telefonica took first place, but a solid performance from Camper saw them fight back from a slow start to finish 43 seconds behind.

The result leaves the Volvo leadership board unchanged with Camper still second overall three points adrift of first place.

After being off the pace at the start Camper sat in third place for the first half of the race before taking advantage of a sail handling mistake aboard Puma to slip into second place. Despite a spirited fight back from Puma on the final leg Camper managed to hold onto second for the finish.

Skipper Chris Nicholson while happy with the points is still looking for more.

'Like leg one it’s great to have the points and I was really impressed with our crew work out there today. It’s just frustrating that we didn’t nail the start. Aside from that I thought it was a good performance. This fleet is so competitive though that one small mistake like we made today can cost you the race.

'I feel that as a unit we’re on the edge of turning in a top class performance so we’ve just got to keep on hammering away until we reach that point. The reality is that in this race if you can consistently get podium finishes then you’re in good shape but we expect more.

'It’s a relief to have came through today without any damage and both boat and crew are in great shape for the start of leg two tomorrow. To be honest we can’t wait to get out there and deliver the result we know we’re capable of. It’s simple – we want to be at the top of the leader board.

'Leg two is going to be just as challenging as the one before it but we’re confident that we’re well positioned to show some good form. The return of Abu Dhabi, Puma and Sanya is going to add a whole new dimension and we know that everybody is going to come out fighting hard for points.

'We’re ready to go racing.'

In-port races take place in all 10 host ports along the 39,000 nautical mile route and deliver over 20 percent of the points. They are sailed close to shore over short, sharp courses requiring multiple sail changes.

Camper is straight back in action on Sunday with Leg 2 to Abu Dhabi, starting at 1300 GMT/0100 Monday NZT.

The route has been redrawn for the second leg because of the threat of piracy in the Indian Ocean, with the teams due to make for an undisclosed safe haven port and then be transported by heavy lift ship to a position off the Sharjah coastline in the northern Emirates. From there they will sprint in to Abu Dhabi for the finish.