CAMPER skipper Chris Nicholson could afford to be positive after his team clawed their way back from fifth to third in the latter stages of Leg 3 – but the Australian admitted there is still work to be done if the team is to start converting podium places into victories.
CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand crossed the Sanya finish line at 07:28:24 UTC to take third place and a combined total of 18 points for the leg from Abu Dhabi to Sanya.
“We thought and expected to do better than third to be honest but it’s a difficult race we’re entered into with the best professional teams in the world,” Nicholson said.
“We left the Singapore Strait in fifth so we’re happy to have got back to third. We thought we were a lot better than fifth. To finish third is good, it’s a good positive for us to finish on. However there’s still a lot of thought required about how we can start winning legs.”
Despite leading the fleet on five separate occasions during the 12-day leg, Nicholson said the defining moment for CAMPER came while navigating the Malacca Strait, the narrow band of water between Sumatra and Malaysia.
“We got on the wrong side of a thunderstorm in the Malacca Strait,” he added. “The other guys went to the Indonesian shore line and we couldn’t get there. That was pretty much the ball game there and then.”
With six more offshore legs and seven in-port races left, Nicholson said his team would rally to eke out every last bit of speed from their boat – but not before some much needed rest.
“We’re able to match the leaders at certain periods of the race and then we kind of let ourselves down occasionally,” he said. “Everyone does it – all the teams do it. I guess I’m a little more conscious of it than most. We just have to keep working on that, go back to the designer, see if there’s anything more in regards to how we’re sailing the boat.
“We hope to rest up a bit now. Even though we haven’t done a lot of miles in the last month it’s been a long month what with the Abu Dhabi stopover, the sprint legs and the shipping to the Maldives. It’s been a big exercise in sailing and logistics so a big rest up here is in order so we can come out with good training and attitude for the in-port race.”
CAMPER made their big move of Leg 3 as they raced across the Bay of Bengal. On day three, it was neck and neck for PUMA’s Mar Mostro and CAMPER, nipping at her heels like a tiresome terrier.
Nicholson was fully fired up, ready to snatch whatever opportunities came his way. He saw a cloud line, which produced a 60-degree favourable windshift, and immediately tacked north and take up position to weather of the fleet, giving a good angle into the Malacca Strait. It was a quick and decisive call, which put the team in a commanding position.
A fascinating tactical contest developed as CAMPER, in second place, closed on the northwest tip of Sumatra on day four. In the lead, the crew of PUMA’s Mar Mostro were under constant threat. But on day five, CAMPER took the top slot with Groupama 4 in second, followed by PUMA. Just 10.6 nautical miles separated the top three. It was short-lived lead for CAMPER and when Telefónica came screaming up through the fleet, the team was an easy target.
The next day the fleet entered the Malacca Strait and CAMPER’s navigator Will Oxley was determined to keep away from the coast of Sumatra, fearing lack of wind. The fleet jostled for position in the restricted area, with positions changing almost hourly.
A contest on day eight with Abu Dhabi led CAMPER to the Malaysian mainland shore where they then ran out of wind. Watching helplessly from the sidelines as the others in the fast lane sailed on by, CAMPER dropped to fourth and then fifth. They were now 22 nm behind after four days’ racing in the fickle and loathsome Malacca Strait.
Once out into the open sea, where gales were forecast for further down the track, they hovered between fourth and fifth place until on day 11, February 1, when PUMA’s Mar Mostro took a risky hike to the east. CAMPER had a brief battle Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing in the unpleasant conditions and moved up the order to third.
In the testing conditions that followed, despite pushing the boat incredibly hard and enduring some tortuous tacking up the coast of Vietnam, CAMPER with Team New Zealand were not able to improve on third place and the order of the top three remained unaltered until the finish in Sanya.
More news here
Credit : I.Roman/VOR
CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand crossed the Sanya finish line at 07:28:24 UTC to take third place and a combined total of 18 points for the leg from Abu Dhabi to Sanya.
“We thought and expected to do better than third to be honest but it’s a difficult race we’re entered into with the best professional teams in the world,” Nicholson said.
“We left the Singapore Strait in fifth so we’re happy to have got back to third. We thought we were a lot better than fifth. To finish third is good, it’s a good positive for us to finish on. However there’s still a lot of thought required about how we can start winning legs.”
Despite leading the fleet on five separate occasions during the 12-day leg, Nicholson said the defining moment for CAMPER came while navigating the Malacca Strait, the narrow band of water between Sumatra and Malaysia.
“We got on the wrong side of a thunderstorm in the Malacca Strait,” he added. “The other guys went to the Indonesian shore line and we couldn’t get there. That was pretty much the ball game there and then.”
With six more offshore legs and seven in-port races left, Nicholson said his team would rally to eke out every last bit of speed from their boat – but not before some much needed rest.
“We’re able to match the leaders at certain periods of the race and then we kind of let ourselves down occasionally,” he said. “Everyone does it – all the teams do it. I guess I’m a little more conscious of it than most. We just have to keep working on that, go back to the designer, see if there’s anything more in regards to how we’re sailing the boat.
“We hope to rest up a bit now. Even though we haven’t done a lot of miles in the last month it’s been a long month what with the Abu Dhabi stopover, the sprint legs and the shipping to the Maldives. It’s been a big exercise in sailing and logistics so a big rest up here is in order so we can come out with good training and attitude for the in-port race.”
CAMPER made their big move of Leg 3 as they raced across the Bay of Bengal. On day three, it was neck and neck for PUMA’s Mar Mostro and CAMPER, nipping at her heels like a tiresome terrier.
Nicholson was fully fired up, ready to snatch whatever opportunities came his way. He saw a cloud line, which produced a 60-degree favourable windshift, and immediately tacked north and take up position to weather of the fleet, giving a good angle into the Malacca Strait. It was a quick and decisive call, which put the team in a commanding position.
A fascinating tactical contest developed as CAMPER, in second place, closed on the northwest tip of Sumatra on day four. In the lead, the crew of PUMA’s Mar Mostro were under constant threat. But on day five, CAMPER took the top slot with Groupama 4 in second, followed by PUMA. Just 10.6 nautical miles separated the top three. It was short-lived lead for CAMPER and when Telefónica came screaming up through the fleet, the team was an easy target.
The next day the fleet entered the Malacca Strait and CAMPER’s navigator Will Oxley was determined to keep away from the coast of Sumatra, fearing lack of wind. The fleet jostled for position in the restricted area, with positions changing almost hourly.
A contest on day eight with Abu Dhabi led CAMPER to the Malaysian mainland shore where they then ran out of wind. Watching helplessly from the sidelines as the others in the fast lane sailed on by, CAMPER dropped to fourth and then fifth. They were now 22 nm behind after four days’ racing in the fickle and loathsome Malacca Strait.
Once out into the open sea, where gales were forecast for further down the track, they hovered between fourth and fifth place until on day 11, February 1, when PUMA’s Mar Mostro took a risky hike to the east. CAMPER had a brief battle Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing in the unpleasant conditions and moved up the order to third.
In the testing conditions that followed, despite pushing the boat incredibly hard and enduring some tortuous tacking up the coast of Vietnam, CAMPER with Team New Zealand were not able to improve on third place and the order of the top three remained unaltered until the finish in Sanya.
More news here
