Telefonica power into Ocean Race lead

Overall leaders Telefonica surged through the Doldrums on Friday to snatch the Leg 2 lead from Groupama less than a day into the Volvo Ocean Race's anti-piracy stealth zone. Groupama went into the area, where exact locations of the boats are masked, with a lead of over 80 nautical miles, after making a successful gamble to travel further to the east in search of stronger winds. With the unpredictable Doldrums still to cross, the advantage was always vulnerable, however, and the French team's worst fears were realised on Friday when Spain's Telefonica hit speeds of 16 knots to roar past them and into the lead on the first stage of the run from Cape Town to Abu Dhabi. At 1300 GMT, the Spanish/New Zealand entry Camper had also overtaken Groupama, with the US-based Puma down in fourth and Abu Dhabi in fifth. "It's been pretty pleasant sailing constantly moving along at more than 15 knots," said Telefonica's navigator Andrew Cape, the Australian who masterminded the team's Leg 1 victory. "We're very close to Camper, which is comforting in a way because we can keep an eye on them," he added. "But the race is far from won. I'm confident I've made the right choice, but a lot of it comes down to who can exit the Doldrums in good shape and be the first to reach a westerly breeze on the other side." Because of the threat of piracy in the Indian Ocean, the public are only able to see the boats' positions in relation to each other, with other information removed or distorted. Organisers have taken other security measures, including sending the boats to a secret 'safe haven' port, from where they will be shipped to the northern Emirates to resume the race into Abu Dhabi. The race, which covers over 39,000 nautical miles (72,000 km) concludes in Galway, Ireland in July.