Alicante, Spain: Leading boats Camper and Telefonica entered the final phase of battle in the first stage of leg two of the Volvo Ocean Race with just 12 nautical miles separating them on Christmas Day after 13 days at sea.
The Spanish/New Zealand entry Camper were only just holding on, with overall leaders Telefonica making big inroads in the three hours to 1000 GMT yesterday as the two sped towards the secret safe haven port in the Indian Ocean.
The identity of the stop-off location has been kept confidential as organisers feared an attack by pirates on the state-of-the-art boats, which cost around $10 million (Dh36.78 million) apiece to build.
First to the port will win 24 points, with 20 going to second. Camper are three points behind Telefonica on the overall leaderboard so first place would be enough to put them in front.
Camper crew member Hamish Hooper said they were trying to concentrate on the job in hand rather than the Christmas Day festivities going on at home.
"It's Christmas Day on board Camper and unfortunately for the guys there isn't a huge amount of energy to be put into it," he said.
