The Volvo Ocean Race fleet slipped lines at the Nansha Marina in
Guangzhou, China on Monday morning in preparation for Leg 6 to Auckland,
New Zealand, which will start this Wednesday following a short stop in
Hong Kong. For Liu Xue (aka Black) racing on board Dongfeng Race Team in the
next leg, it was a homecoming he will not forget: “For me this has been a
magical few days with the team arriving in China and visiting Guangzhou
where we have enjoyed the support of our friends families and everyone
at Dongfeng.”
The Guangzhou stopover marked the fourth time the Volvo Ocean Race
has stopped in China over the past 10 years, beginning with the Olympic
sailing venue of Qingdao in the 2008-09 edition. Subsequent races have
visited Sanya (2011-12 and 2014-15) and now the current race is in the
Hong Kong SAR and Guangzhou, China for the first time.
“This my third time that I've been to China with the Volvo Ocean
Race. We have been for a few days and it's different than to what we are
used to, but very nice," said Team Brunel skipper Bouwe Bekking.
“There is an excellent marina and the infrastructure is superb. The
organisation is fantastic and it's clear that the Chinese know how to
put things into place very quickly.”
Six teams in the Volvo Ocean Race fleet are scheduled to cross the
starting line off Hong Kong for Leg 6 to Auckland on Wednesday February 7
at 1300 local time (0500 UTC), although strong winds are forecast which
may push the start time earlier to get the fleet away ahead of the big
breeze. Race Management will confirm the start time within the next 24
hours.
The seventh team, Vestas 11th Hour Racing, has announced it will miss
Leg 6, following a collision with a non-racing vessel at the end of Leg
4. The team has already missed the Leg to Guangzhou.
In a statement, the team said:
“The time required for repairs means the team will not be rejoining the
race in time for Leg 6 from Hong Kong to Auckland, New Zealand. The
shore crew has loaded the yacht onto a freight vessel in Hong Kong for
transportation to Auckland.
“The team aims to have repairs completed during the stopover in
Auckland, in time for inshore racing and the start of Leg 7 to Itajaí,
Brazil, which is scheduled for March 18,” the statement concludes.
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