Abu Dhabi: It was all about girl power at the Abu Dhabi In-Port Race on Friday as Team SCA scored a tactical victory here ahead of the Volvo Ocean Race’s third leg to Sanya, China, from Saturday.
Team SCA, the all-female team led by Sam Davies, gave their male counterparts a crash course in short-course racing and announced they will be fierce competitors as the race progresses by clinching their maiden In-Port Race victory in authoritative fashion on the waters off the UAE capital’s Corniche.
Second were Team Brunel, who won the second leg last month, while local team Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing also took a podium place.
Team Abu Dhabi, having finished second in Alicante, Spain, and first in Cape Town, South Africa, in the earlier In-Port Races, lead the overall standings with six points.
After Friday’s In-Port Race was delayed for almost two hours due to a lack of wind, Team SCA stormed to victory and afterwards Davies said: “Extremely pleased with the result. We did everything right and all credit goes to the girls — they were simply exceptional on the day. I’m very proud of them.
“This result will be a huge boost as we head for the next leg from here. We are very much looking forward to that challenge.”
Despite finishing third, Abu Dhabi skipper Ian Walker was not too pleased with their showing.
“We didn’t do that great but will take that third place. We’re happy that the race got underway after the delay and the result will keep us at the top of the standings, so that’s a good thing heading into the next leg,” he said.
“However, all credit to the SCA girls as they did a great job and I wish them all the best for the third leg.”
Ace UAE sailor Adel Khalid was glad to be on the podium and thanked Team Abu Dhabi’s fans for turning up in large numbers.
“Pretty happy that we came third in front of our home fans and I really want to thank them all for supporting us. Hopefully we can start off well from tomorrow [Saturday] here and keep on building on it in the coming days and finish on top in Sanya.”
Earlier though the sun was shining bright on the sparkling waters of the Corniche in front of the Abu Dhabi skyline, even as the wind failed to pick up and the race was delayed. It remained calm, with a wind speed of between 3 and 4 knots, but, much to the relief of the organisers, the six-strong fleet — Team Vestas Wind were absent after they ran aground during leg two — were able to set sail for a truncated race of 3.2 nautical miles.
Team SCA got their tactics right and made a perfect start. They dived into a good breeze and picked up pace to maintain the lead.
Having got the edge, they had to handle the turns well to stay in front. Team Brunel, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and Dongfeng all went on the attack after losing ground at the start, but Team SCA kept it steady and crossed the finish line virtually unchallenged.
The 4,670-nautical mile voyage between Abu Dhabi and Sanya will be flagged off from the capital at 2pm on Saturday.
