Leg 3, Cape Town to Melbourne, arrivals. Photo by Jesus Renedo/Volvo Ocean Race. 27 December, 2017.
All seven boats in the Volvo Ocean Race fleet have now finished Leg 3 in Melbourne, with team AkzoNobel crossing the line just before 10.30am local time today.
It was a slow and frustrating end to a difficult leg that saw the team fall behind the rest of the fleet after damaging their mast track during a gybe in heavy weather conditions.
Enjoying far better fortunes was leg winner team MAPFRE, who made it to Australia on 24 December, just in time to celebrate Christmas on dry land.
Leg 03, Cape Town to Melbourne. Arrival in Melbourne. Photo by Jesus Renedo/Volvo Ocean Race. 24 December, 2017.
For the second consecutive leg, MAPFRE needed to come from behind to earn the victory. And for the second time in a row, it was Dongfeng Race Team they passed mid-stage to snatch the win.
The Southern Ocean pushed all the teams to the limit during the 6,500 nm leg from Cape Town, South Africa. Extreme cold, storm force winds for days on end and towering seas posed massive challenges for seamanship and tactics.
Leg 3, Cape Town to Melbourne, day 14, Christmas Eve with John Fisher on the wheel and Tom Clout on the mainsheet on board Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag. Photo by Konrad Frost/Volvo Ocean Race. 24 December, 2017
Throughout it all, the crews were able to rely on Inmarsat to keep them safe and connected. As official Satellite Communications Partner to the Volvo Ocean Race for a fifth consecutive edition, Inmarsat is providing reliable FleetBroadband connectivity for high-speed voice and data, Inmarsat C safety services and IsatPhone 2 satellite phones for the boats’ liferaft grab packs.
Leg 4 to Hong Kong starts on 2 January.
