With about 100 nautical miles to go, Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) was bordering on being disastrous for Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (ADOR).
A couple of tactical errors, two stricken crew early in the leg and an untimely meeting with a floating wooden pallet had seen the race leaders slip to fifth place.
Worse was that Dongfeng Race Team, who had built a six-point overall lead over ADOR’s Azzam boat before the leg, were threatening a podium finish, maybe even second place, which would have cut the Azzam crew’s lead to just three points.
In the end, a late surge by Team Mapfre and Team Alvimedica relegated Dongfeng to fourth place, one ahead of Azzam, so the lead was reduced by only a point.
More good news arrived for Azzam in Lisbon last Wednesday when an independent race jury penalised three boats for infractions during the Newport to Lisbon leg.
One of them was Dongfeng, who had a point added to their overall total (lowest points wins in the race), which took Azzam’s lead back to six points.
Now, with just two legs to go, a sequence that could have landed lasting blows on Azzam suddenly turned to the ADOR boat’s advantage.
Time and mileage are running out for Azzam’s challengers.
The race resumes on Sunday with the eighth and shortest leg, from Lisbon to Lorient, in Brittany, France.
It should take the fleet up to four days to sail the 647nm.
Not that the leg is expected to be any easier as the weather expected for the start is uncertain.
“It’s probably one of the toughest legs in the first 12 to 24 hours with 40 to 45 knots upwind,” said Bouwe Bekking, the skipper of Team Brunel who won Leg 7 and are in joint second-place overall.
Ian Walker, the Azzam skipper, has been left more cautious – and determined – by the recent happy events and refused on Saturday to consider his team’s prospects of victory.
“There’s a lot of this race left,” he said. “In offshore sailing you can lose going up a river. I’ve seen Admiral’s Cups lost in the dying seconds. We’re a long, long way from winning the race. I prefer to not even look at the scores. The other teams know they have plenty of chances to beat us.”
Walker is right to be guarded. What the points penalty and last leg has done is to complicate Azzam’s position at the top.
Instead of worrying mostly about covering Dongfeng, as had been the strategy, they now have to worry about Brunel as well.
“We’ve got to finish in the top three or top four twice, or just beat them (Brunel and Dongfeng),” Walker said.
“Anything can still happen to Abu Dhabi on these next two legs, so we haven’t lost sight of the chance of beating them,” said Charles Caudrelier, the Dongfeng skipper.
“Of course, now Brunel are also in the picture, which perhaps makes it just as complicated for Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing as it does for us. Who will cover whom?”
Azzam will be without Emirati sailor Adil Khalid, who has had a recurrence of the stomach bug that forced him to miss two earlier legs in the race. He returned for the latest leg but was ill again within the first couple of days.
He will be replaced by Louis Sinclair, the reserve under-30 sailor.
“I’m obviously gutted to miss Leg 8,” Khalid said. “I thought my Abu Dhabi rehab had shaken this bug off once and for all, but it’s returned with a vengeance.”
The leg also marks the much-awaited return to the race of Team Vestas Wind, who have been out of the race since their boat was grounded on a shallow reef in the Indian Ocean during the second leg last November.
Vestas announced their intention to rebuild their boat and return to the race during the stopover in Abu Dhabi and have overcome many obstacles to make their return in Lisbon.
“The sailing itself is like riding a bicycle,” skipper Chris Nicholson said. “But there are a few nerves ahead of the leg, which is unusual for me. We can’t win the race but we’ve still been racing to get here. I’m really happy with how things have gone this week.”
osamiuddin@thenational.ae
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Premier Futsal 2017 Finals
Al Wasl Football Club; six teams, five-a-side
Delhi Dragons: Ronaldinho
Bengaluru Royals: Paul Scholes
Mumbai Warriors: Ryan Giggs
Chennai Ginghams: Hernan Crespo
Telugu Tigers: Deco
Kerala Cobras: Michel Salgado
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
The biog
Name: Timothy Husband
Nationality: New Zealand
Education: Degree in zoology at The University of Sydney
Favourite book: Lemurs of Madagascar by Russell A Mittermeier
Favourite music: Billy Joel
Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
Army of the Dead
Director: Zack Snyder
Stars: Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera
Three stars
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net
Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.
Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.
A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.
Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.
Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
The specs
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Power: 360bhp
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Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh282,870
On sale: now