Volvo Ocean Race Leg 6 - Camper sets sail for the USA

by Camper on 23 Apr 2012 In the Volvo Ocean Race, Camper set sail today from Itajai for the 4, 800 mile journey north to Miami, Florida, a leg which looks set to be a battle of strategy for the five boat fleet. 'It's not as simple as it might look from the outside,' commented skipper Chris Nicholson from the dock in Itajai.

'This leg has a really interesting setup, if you get to the east of the others, you can sometimes get better pressure, and maybe a better angle. There is a fair bit of discipline required on this leg in terms of managing your overall position, the fleet management and your strategy. It's going to be a real thinking person's leg and I think we have a good mix in the team to cover this kind of situation'.

It has been a very short stop for Chris Nicholson and the crew of Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand. With under a week to turn the boat around, as well as taking part in the Pro Am and In Port race it has been a short but sweet stay in Itajai. The team walked away with their second IWC Schaffhausen Speed Record Challenge trophy in five legs after recording a 528 nautical mile run on March 23rd, five days into Leg 5 from Auckland to Itajai. MCM Hamish Hooper also scooped the Inmarsat Media Award for the second time in the race to date.

For the shore team it’s been stopover of little sleep, but the hard work paid off yesterday to see Camper take second place in the In Port race and close the gap on the overall leaderboard. 'We've had a hard month but we’ve achieved a lot to get here and it was an achievement to get second yesterday for the In Port race.'

Looking ahead with under three months remaining in the race, there are still over 40% of all the race points still up for grabs. 'The team needs to stay positive and strong over the next three months, there are lots of points available and a lot can still happen. As for this leg to Miami, you never know where you will get the winning break, sometimes it’s in the last hour of the race, sometimes it is the first hour.'

'I think it is clear that it may not be fastest boat that wins this leg, there are some key decisions to make over the first few days and also for the final few days heading towards Miami. Hopefully we are looking at some good conditions and some downwind sailing, which should be fun!'

Overall:

1st Team Telefónica – 149 pts
2nd Groupama Sailing Team – 133 pts -
3rd Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand - 124 pts
4th Puma Ocean Racing powered by Berg – 117 pts
5th Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing - 58 pts
6th Team Sanya - 25 pts

Camper website
Volvo Ocean Race website