The Volvo trans-Atlantic Leg 7 finish was at sunrise this…
The Volvo trans-Atlantic Leg 7 finish was at sunrise this morning Lisbon time/late last night California time. All six boats finished within 4 hours of each other, with the order being: Brunel, MAPFRE, Alvimedica, Dongfeng, ADOR, SCA. Winds got super light in the last few miles, which made things interesting, especially in the battle for third place.
Dongfeng was solidly in third as they approached the land, but Alvimedica got better wind close to shore and managed to pass them. Then in the final beat to the finish under the boats’ masthead Code 0 headsails, Dongfeng initiated a tacking duel. Alvimedica had a poor tack that allowed Dongfeng to escape into better wind, and for a moment it looked like Dongfeng had retaken third place.
It was significant for the overall race standings, because Dongfeng is the closest to overall leader ADOR, so every boat they could put between themselves and ADOR would help them close the gap.
With one final tack to make for the finish line, though, Dongfeng had a disastrous tack that left them in irons, allowing Alvimedica to regain their lead and finish in third place a few minutes later. The live coverage missed the crucial moment when the problem occurred on Dongfeng, but they were getting live audio from my man-crush Yann Riou at the time, and it was heart-breaking to hear him describe what was happening. (Also hard to listen to was skipper Charles Caudrelier screaming in frustration.)
You can use this link to go straight to the climax:
Overall standings (low-point scoring) with two (short) legs remaining:
- ADOR: 16 pts
- Dongfeng: 21
- Brunel: 22
- MAPFRE: 26
- Alvimedica: 27
- SCA: 41
- Vestas: 52
Reposted from http://ift.tt/1Bq6gl4.
Tags: vor, volvo ocean race, team alvimedica, dongfeng race team.
