Azzam targets sprint for home

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing team skipper Ian Walker praised his crew's efforts despite their fifth-placed finish in stage one of the Volvo Ocean Race's second leg yesterday. The UAE team's Azzam boat crossed the finish line at an undisclosed location in the Indian Ocean just before 1pm UAE time, some 15 hours behind stage winners and overall race leaders Team Telefónica. The race has tested British double Olympic silver medallist Walker and his crew to the limit, as they suffered a broken mast soon after leaving Alicante in Spain and had to abandon the first leg. Some rapid repairs in Cape Town ensured Azzam was fit to start leg two and they led the fleet five times soon after leaving South Africa. But conditions conspired against them and they trailed in to the secret ‘safe haven' — the location of which wasn't released because of piracy fears — fifth of the five boats currently active, after 16 days at sea. "I am upset not to have finished with a better result, but on the other hand after the disaster of breaking our mast on leg one I feel a strange feeling of relief to have at least completed the first part of the second leg," Walker said. "To have failed to make the stopover in Abu Dhabi would have been absolutely disastrous for the team and the stopover. It has been a very bizarre leg and one during which we have scarcely seen another boat after the first night, despite a very conservative strategy. "Fifth place does nothing to help get us back up the leaderboard, where we wish to be, and every member of the crew is feeling the pain. "One thing that gets to me is that the guys have sailed the boat pretty well and yet all the effort expended actually now counts for very little in terms of reward." The fleet is now being shipped to Sharjah, where they will compete in a day-long sprint finish for the line at Abu Dhabi. Walker said his crew would regroup and turn their focus to the second stage into their home port. No shame "There is no shame in being beaten by any of the teams in this race and the pain of finishing fifth will make the taste of future victories even sweeter," he said. At the head of the race, a thrilling finale to to the latest stage saw Iker Martínez's Telefónica edge out arch-rivals Camper by just one minute and 57 seconds.