As the capital excitedly prepares for the arrival for the Volvo Ocean Race teams and in particular our very own Azzam, we take a look at the progress so far

The Volvo Ocean Race is the Formula One of sailing and one of the world’s toughest, most extreme sporting challenges. It brings together the world’s most professional sailing crews, on state-of-the-art yachts, for nine months of extreme, head-to-head sailing over a 39,000 nautical mile course, spanning some of the world’s most treacherous seas. That’s why it’s called The Everest of Sailing!

First raced in 1973, as the Whitbread Round the World Race, crews push themselves and their boats to the limits over a series of offshore ocean legs to stopover ports around the globe.

This year Abu Dhabi is making history with the entry of the first Middle Eastern team into the race. Backed by ADTA and led by double Olympic medalist Ian Walker, the team and their boat Azzam – ‘determined’ in Arabic – will be competing against five other outfits in search of sailing glory.

The 2011/2012 edition of the race kicked off in Alicante, Spain, with the first in-port race on 29th October, which the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing Team won convincingly to put them straight at the top of the leaderboard and boosted confidence ahead of the first leg – a gruelling 6,500 nautical mile slog to Cape Town.

Unfortunately, just six hours after setting sail for South Africa, whilst battling 15-foot waves and 30-knot winds, the team suffered a huge setback as their mast was broken into three pieces after being smashed by a massive wave, forcing the team to eventually retire from the first leg.

“It was the scariest day of my life,” said Adil Khalid, the team’s Emirati sailor and the first Gulf national to compete in the race. “Being out at sea, in the dead of night, and having that happen – your heart is beating really fast and you thank God everyone is safe. When you are faced with a situation like this, you really see what you are made of.”

After returning to Alicante, the team’s spare mast was delivered from Valencia and the shore team set to work repairing the damage before Azzam was loaded on a container ship and transported to the next stopover port in South Africa.

In the second in-port race in Cape Town, a fully repaired Azzam took a comfortable fourth place as skipper Ian Walker balanced an all-out display with keeping the yacht in top condition ahead of the next leg.

“We held our position throughout and importantly came through unscathed. These in-port races are very hard and the whole fleet did well,” he said. “For us, the next leg to our home in Abu Dhabi is priority one; we have overcome such adversity to be ready for this and take a lot of comfort from that. From here it is about building confidence and being quick and steady.”

The teams left Cape Town bound for Abu Dhabi on 11th December although the increased threat of piracy in the Indian Ocean meant that the race’s organisers were forced to make changes to the route.

The teams will now race to an undisclosed safe haven port in the Indian Ocean where they will be loaded onto an armed heavy lift ship and transported to the northern Emirates. They will then resume racing from a set-down point along the Sharjah coastline with a sprint to the finish line in Abu Dhabi.

“For us, to get back to winning ways and to do this coming back into our home at Abu Dhabi would be perfect. But we are under no illusions, this is a very long and testing leg, and anything could happen between now and New Year,” said Ian Walker.

“What we can be sure of is that Abu Dhabi will pull out all the stops for its welcoming and hosting of the fleet. If that is not incentive enough to make sure we get there as fast as possible, I don’t know what is.”

The teams are expected to arrive at the capital’s Destination Village on New Year’s Day – let’s hope that Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and Azzam are leading the way!

A shore thing

A little like Formula One, the Volvo Ocean Race is a huge operation and a logistical nightmare, with lots more going on behind the scenes than most people realise. We chat to Mike Danks, shore team manager for Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing to find out more

What exactly do you do?
Basically, once the boat hits the dock, it becomes my responsibility and everything from sailmaking and electronics to boatbuilding and rigging comes under my remit. I look after all the guys in these departments and coordinate and prioritise the job lists.

The shore team are just as important as the sailors, aren’t they?
[laughs] You’re right – no shore team, no sailboat. We play just as big a part. If the boats not built, prepared or maintained properly, it will break down and they won’t be sailing anyway. I mean, in terms of size, the shore team is twice as big as the sailing crew.

What sort of maintenance work do you need to do during the stopovers?
We get the boat out of the water and get the mast down so we can service it and check the rig and the hull. Of course, this is on top of the regular ongoing maintenance and development that we carry out. We also have a list that Wade Morgan [bowman] and Jules [navigator] will have emailed us from the boat detailing parts that have been damaged or are making horrible noises that need to be looked at.

What has the highlight been so far?
Winning the first in-port race so convincingly was a major highlight, for sure. Then, of course, the mast breaking brought us back down and was a massive blow. But the team just pulled together and got the job done – unfortunately, we had to ship the boat to South Africa but this gave us time to modify the rig a little bit. Cape Town was a really positive experience for us though and we know we can still do well in this race, we just need a little bit of luck with the weather but there’s still a long way to go.

Everyone in Abu Dhabi is starting to get excited about the arrival of the boats – what are you most looking forward to?
A fantastic reception!

Destination Abu Dhabi

Since it was revealed that Abu Dhabi would become the first Middle Eastern Home Port in the history of the Volvo Ocean Race, ADTA has been working hard behind the scenes planning and developing the Destination Village, which will be the home of the boats and a major attraction for the duration of the two-week stopover.

Located on the Corniche Breakwater next to the Heritage Village and overlooking our impressive city skyline, the Destination Village will open free-of-charge to the public daily from 31st December until 14th January, when the teams depart on the third leg of the race to Sanya, China.

The highly interactive maritime-themed village will be packed with activities and entertainment for the whole family including exhibitions, shows, simulators, hospitality, game zones, restaurants and cafes and shops.

Volvo Ocean Race is also bringing its Life at the Extreme activity centre to Abu Dhabi. Running daily at the Destination Village, the centre includes rides and entertainment that allow fans to experience first-hand the thrills and spills of the race.

Top attractions coming include The Ride, a state-of-the-art simulator that gives the feeling of being onboard a Volvo Open 70 yacht at speed in extreme conditions whilst being bombarded by strong winds and spray; The Dome, a 40 person interactive 3D cinema; The Grinding Challenge, where you can pit your strength against your friends on the pedestal grinders which the crews use onboard Volvo Open 70s; and Air Balls, which gives kids the chance to ‘run’ on water.

In addition to the daily, free on-shore activities, a full sailing and watersports programme will run throughout the fortnight for kids and adults. Volvo Ocean Race will also run classrooms and practical workshops to teach sailing to all ages, whilst a number of local racing regattas will be held for sailing aficionados and newcomers alike.

The village will also have dedicated team ‘Wet and Dry’ areas, which will allow fans to get up-close to the magnificent Volvo Open 70 racing yachts and their crews following their testing 5,430 nautical mile journey from Cape Town.

And in a first for the Volvo Ocean Race, ADTA is erecting the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing team’s shore base right in the heart of the village. The base will have see-through walls and the sail loft will be open facing to the public.

And finally, don’t forget all the competitive sailing with world-class racing action on the 12th, 13th and 14th January for the Pro-Am In-port Race and the departure of the Open 70 yachts on the third leg to Sanya, China.

Jon Muller