CAMPER second into Cape Town

Emirates Team New Zealand Media Update: CAMPER second into Cape Town after a torrid final 24 hours


After 22 days at sea CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand has finished second in leg one of the Volvo Ocean Race.

The gruelling 6500 mile sprint from Alicante to Cape Town saved the worst conditions for last with skipper Chris Nicholson describing the final 24 hours as some of the toughest conditions he’d ever seen.

Overnight CAMPER faced winds gusting over 35 knots and large confused seas that forced them to severely reef down and throttle back but once daylight broke, they were able to build up speed again and cross the finish to take 25 points to add to their four points earned for a third-place finish in the Alicante in-port race.

CAMPER now sits second on the leader board two points adrift of leg one winner Telefonica. The remaining boat in the fleet Groupama is expected to finish sometime on Tuesday morning.

While happy with the points and the performance of boat and crew skipper Chris Nicholson is far from satisfied

"We are here in second and that's a good result so we are happy with the points and the position, but we were all expecting to do better.

“We have had 20 days of playing catch up from an early mistake but we just weren't able to catch up. We were not on the front fool with the leaders and that’s where we should be.

“We made one mistake near the start and we paid for it for the next 6000 miles but that’s the game – we need to do better and we will.

“It was a really tough first leg there’s no doubt about it . It was different from any other first leg I have done before. The weather just wasn't the same and I think that challenged all of us. The important thing is though that we are here and both boat and crew are in good shape.

“I’m delighted with the way the boat has come through the leg and I think the fact that we managed to sail the greatest distance in a 24 hour period in the leg suggests that our speed is up there with the best of them.

“This is going to be a fascinating race and with Abu Dhabi, Puma and Sanya all coming back for leg two it really is going to be game on.”

The CAMPER crew will now have several days off to relax and catch-up with family and loved ones while the boat is pulled out of the water for a full inspection prior to the Cape Town in-port race on 10 December.

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