Azzam set sail for Auckland on Sunday without Emirati crewman Adil Khalid, whose bout with a stomach bug left him unable to start the 5,264-nautical-mile race fourth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race to Auckland.
The veteran sailor, called “the face” of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ador) by Azzam captain Ian Walker, was replaced just before departure from Sanya, China, by Alex Higby.
Englishman Higby is one of four spare Ador sailors who met the training conditions to join the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race.
“I know Adil is devastated to have to miss Leg 4 and I wish him a speedy recover,” said Higby, the team’s under-30 reserve.
Each boat must have two sailors under 30 years of age in their crews. Khalid is 26.
Higby, who has been working for Ador in the sail loft with the shore crew, was woken at 7am yesterday by Walker and told to prepare to go to sea. “I haven’t had much time to think about the significance of getting the call-up from Ian,” said Higby, who will be 30 on September 26.
“But, I’m of course very excited to get the chance to sail in my first Volvo Ocean Race leg and I will be giving it everything I have got on the way to New Zealand.”
Khalid, a trimmer and helmsman, had been part of all 12 legs raced by Azzam, going back to the first of nine legs during the 2011/12 Volvo round-the-world race.
“Adil is an important part of our crew and so it was a difficult decision to stand him down for this leg,” Walker said. “But this is a particularly virulent bug, and we can’t take the risk of infecting the rest of the crew during the leg.
“The team has prepared for this sort of eventuality and we have had Alex Higby on standby to step in if one of our under-30s got sick or injured. He is strong and fit and has sailed with us during our pre-race training.
“I know he will fit in well to the crew.”
The early stages of the race last night were almost directly upwind, but the breeze was not as strong and the seas not as rough as had been feared.
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