Abu Dhabi: Members of the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (ADOR) team believe their festive break in the UAE capital has been a perfect tonic ahead of this weekend’s In-Port Race and start of the testing third leg of the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR).

The VOR fleet resumes competitive action on Friday as the three-week race stopover draws to a close with the In-Port Race, just off the city’s Corniche. The competitors will then set sail for Sanya, China, on Saturday.

ADOR won the race’s opening leg from Alicante, Spain, to Cape Town, South Africa, and were third on Leg 2 to Abu Dhabi. The team — led by double Olympic silver medallist Ian Walker and including Emirati Olympian Adel Khalid — tied for the overall lead with Team Brunel and Dongfeng Race Team.

After spending the break relaxing with their families and enjoying the Abu Dhabi sunshine, the ADOR sailors are raring to get back to racing.

Navigator Simon Fisher said the team’s mood is upbeat. “Everyone’s had a chance to recuperate from the first two legs and enjoy time with their families,” he said.

“Now they’re enthusiastic to get back to work and into racing again. This is a busy week with a practice race and preparations for the In-Port Race and leg start.”

Fisher said although the In-Port Race does not score overall points, the ADOR crew would be sailing flat out to pull off a win in front of their home crowd — just like they did in 2012, when he and Walker masterminded victory here.

“We’re all looking forward to the In-Port Race because this is our home stopover and we want to put on a good show for our fans here,” he said. “We always get fantastic support in Abu Dhabi and we want to return the favour with a win.”

Of the expected sailing conditions, he added: “Most likely is that we get a local sea breeze generated by the land heating up, producing 10 to 12 knots of breeze — perfect conditions for yacht racing.

“Alternatively, if we get a shamal — a hot, northwesterly wind from the Arabian Gulf — we could see 18 to 20 knots of wind. Either way, I think we’re in for an exciting day on the water.”

Local hero Khalid, who is competing in his second consecutive VOR in ADOR colours, believes a win in the Abu Dhabi In-Port Race would send the crew into Leg 3 full of confidence.

“The stopover in Abu Dhabi has been fantastic and I’m very proud of the way the city has showcased what the UAEs has to offer,” he said. “I remember the noise of the crowds cheering us on in the last In-Port Race here and we need people to come down and do the same again.”

ADOR will rest Australian trimmer and helmsman Phil Harmer for Leg 3 to allow him more time to recover after injuring his left wrist and contracting a nasty bug on Leg 2. ADOR performance director and five-time VOR veteran Neal McDonald will stand in when ADOR sails its Volvo Ocean 65 yacht Azzam to China.

At 4,670 nautical miles, the passage from Abu Dhabi to Sanya — an island off the Chinese south coast — is the shortest in the race so far. However, Fisher says Leg 3 will be particularly challenging, especially for the navigators.

“It’s a very complex course, with a lot of coastal sailing and thermally driven breezes to deal with,” he said.

According to Fisher, the first challenge facing the crews will be extricating themselves from the Arabian Gulf’s light winds and strong currents.

“I think it will be a bit like sailing in the Mediterranean,” he said. “We are all conscious that you can’t win the leg on the first night, but you could lose it. We will be focusing on getting away from Abu Dhabi with the lead group and then staying with that pack as much as possible.”

After that, the fleet will hook into north-easterly monsoon winds, meaning consistent conditions on the way to the southern tip of India, where another key choice awaits the navigators. “Where we place ourselves in relation to the Indian coast — close in, or offshore — could be the most important decision of the whole leg,” Fisher said.

Then, the fleet must negotiate the light winds and strong currents of the Strait of Malacca and squeeze through the world’s busiest shipping lanes off Singapore, before going through a thousand miles of upwind sailing across the South China Sea and along the south coast of Vietnam, before they finally make it to Sanya.

Leg 3 should take a little over three weeks to complete.