Osman Samiuddin

Leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race begins tomorrow in Itajai, Brazil. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s Azzam crew find themselves with a seven-point lead in the overall race with four legs to go. Osman Samiuddin looks at key topics.

Where to?

To Newport, Rhode Island, 5,010 nautical miles of Atlantic Ocean away. Like Auckland, Newport is another sailing centre and it is the last long leg of the race. According to Azzam’s Adil Khalid, it is mostly straight-line, drag-racing to the end. Fortunately, skipper Ian Walker revels in that.

But first ...

... comes the in-port race today. Azzam have finished on the podium in the first four and are top of that table, as well, equal on points with Team Brunel. In case the overall race ends up tied on points, the in-port results will be a tiebreaker. “Rest assured we will be giving it everything we have for a good result,” Walker said.

Welcome back

Adil Khalid, the Emirati Olympian sailor, who missed the last two legs of the race, is back and will join Azzam’s crew from the in-port race. Khalid picked up a stomach virus in Sanya, China, just before the start of the fourth leg in December.

Hard work

Khalid pushed himself over the past month to regain full fitness. “It’s been a long, hard road,” he said. “It was tough to wave the guys off the dock on the fourth and fifth legs and not be going with them. They have the team in a strong position and I’m looking forward to getting back into the thick of the action.”

The competition

A bonus for Azzam in Leg 5 was the misfortune that struck Dongfeng Race Team. The two were tied at the top before the leg began, but Dongfeng broke a mast and retired from the leg. That meant they picked up eight points (low points win) and are seven points behind Azzam.

Surprise

Azzam will be boosted by the presence of former Brazil football star and double World Cup winner Cafu for today’s one-hour in-port race. He mostly will try to stay out of the way.

osamiuddin@thenational.ae

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