Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s Azzam, led by skipper Ian Walker, took an early lead in the third leg of Volvo Ocean Race between the UAE’s capital and Sanya, China, with a great start in front of home fans on Saturday.

The race started with some emotional scenes as the teams said their goodbyes to their family and friends before getting on to the boats.

The conditions were testing — the city was engulfed in a thick fog cover. The winds were light and it was pretty much impossible to see where the rest of the boats were at the begginging. The all-women Team SCA, who shocked their male counterparts by winning the In-Port race on Friday, chose to move from the left while the rest headed right. But it was Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing who seemed to have got the shift right and they were the first to round mark one.

Dongfeng team was right behind, but the gap between them and Team Abu Dhabi just kept widening. By the second mark, the fog had started to abate and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, in the safe hands of the experienced Walker, consolidated the lead.

Team SCA, cheered on by their fans on the spectator boats, were giving chase on third spot. The first night is bound to be testing as the crew can’t relax much.

As the Abu Dhabi racing crossed the final mark, their fans on spectator boats started banging on the horns and there were handshakes on the deck between Walker, Neal McDonald and the rest of the crew as the jumper was off the boat.

As the boats head for the Gulf of Oman they are expected to ride close to the shore. They will later manoeuvre towards India and go around Sri Lanka. This is a treacherous route. There will be a lot of shipping traffic and they will also have to battle strong monsoon winds as they head for Sri Lanka. Then, turning for Singapore through the Malacca strait they will also have to deal with lot of boats and then pass through a lot of small islands where they will come across a lot of debris. There will be many chances to take the lead and it will be interesting to see who will emerge victorious in the 4,670 nautical miles course to Sanya.

Meanwhile, Team Vestas Wind made a stunning announcement that they have ambitious plans to get their wrecked boat ready in time for the Volvo Ocean Race by June. The Danish team’s Volvo Ocean 65 was grounded on a reef in the middle of the Indian Ocean midway through Leg 2 on November 29. Their nine-strong crew miraculously avoided serious injuries in the 19 knot collision, but the boat suffered extensive damage, especially to the stern.

“We got the boat off the reef in better condition than we thought possible,” said skipper Chris Nicholoson. “There are large portions of the deck that can be reused — 70 to 80 per cent — and a lot of other components within the structure. We’ll rebuild our boat just as we rebuild our hopes and dreams.”