SAILING. VOR2012, Leg 4 Day 21 – Groupama sailing team survived a late scare to secure a dramatic victory on Leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race on Saturday, crossing the finish line shortly before midnight in Auckland to end Team Telefónica's winning streak and give New Zealander Brad Marsh a homecoming of a lifetime.

Groupama Sailing Team, skippered by Franck Cammas from France, sailing past Takou Bay, in the final sprint to the finish in Auckland, during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. (IAN ROMAN/Volvo Ocean Race)

The French team, appearing in the race for the first time, had to isolate a leak and furiously pump out around a ton of water after suffering damage to the bow within hours of the finish line, following repeated upwind pounding in eight-metre waves over recent days.

Quick work from the crew averted a potential disaster, ensuring bowman Marsh would be the first New Zealander into Auckland, with PUMA still more than 100 nm behind them and locked in a tense battle with Telefónica -- winners of the first three offshore legs -- and CAMPER for the remaining podium places.

"I'm feeling very excited. It's a great day for Groupama 4 and it's great to arrive here first into Auckland," said Groupama skipper Franck Cammas after the crew had been greeted by two Waka Hourua – traditional double-hulled Polynesian sailing canoes – as they entered Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour.

“I'm pretty sure we're going to have a good time here with all the sailing fans. It's a good place to win for sure."

Groupama Sailing Team, skippered by Franck Cammas from France, sailing past Takou Bay, in the final sprint to the finish in Auckland, during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. (IAN ROMAN/Volvo Ocean Race)

Leg 4 began in Sanya back on February 19 with a Stage 1 sprint designed to keep the fleet out of the worst of the weather in the South China Sea.

Stage 2, over 5,220 nm, began with a staggered start based on finishing positions in that first stage. Groupama finished Leg 4 at 10:3347 UTC (local Auckland time: 23:33:47) in a total elapsed time of 19 days 15 hours 35 minutes 54 seconds, with the result confirming that they are serious challengers for the overall title.

1200 UTC on Saturday, PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG were holding on to second place, followed by Team Telefónica in third and CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand in fourth.

Going into Leg 4, Telefónica were 18 points ahead of second-placed CAMPER on the overall leaderboard and 28 points clear of Groupama. With the French team taking 30 points for the leg victory, they briefly went to the top on Saturday, though barring accidents Telefónica will regain the lead when they come in on Sunday.

There was no one more delighted on board Groupama 4 than Marsh, the Auckland native who won the informal race to be the first of the 20 Kiwi sailors in the race into New Zealand.

"It feels amazing," Marsh said. "It’s a childhood dream for me. I didn’t allow myself to think about winning up until today. But the excitement set in as we came down the coast and I realised it was all going to happen."

It was also a fantastic moment for Cammas as Groupama became the first French boat to take line honours coming into Auckland in a Whitbread/Volvo Ocean Race, though 33 Export, skippered by Alain Gabbay, did win here on handicap back in 1977-78.

Groupama Sailing Team, skippered by Franck Cammas from France, finish first in to Auckland harbour at night, on leg 4 from Sanya, China to Auckland, New Zealand, during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. (IAN ROMAN/Volvo Ocean Race)

After finishing third in the Stage 1 day race, Groupama 4 led the fleet out into the South China Sea, probably the most dangerous section of the 5,220 nm leg.

On day two, skipper Cammas took the decision to go south and by 2200 CAMPER had taken a slim lead after a day of horrible upwind slamming.

The wind soon died but the sea state remained big and sloppy and the exit of the South China Sea looked to be a painful affair.

A change of waypoint dropped Groupama to fourth on day four but they were back in front the following day as the fleet tracked north towards Japan.

The key move from Groupama came on day seven as they split from CAMPER to a more northerly position. It set them back on the leaderboard in terms of distance to finish but gave them a position from which to control the fleet, by moving north or south according to the wind pressure.

They led the fleet through the Pacific Ring of Fire and never relinquished the advantage.

"The key thing for this leg was to be quick and to make good decisions,” Cammas said today. “We knew we had to do both of those things and we did. This is where we ended up.

“The turning point in the leg was when we made a very bold call with PUMA in the north and it paid off. That was the decisive moment."

Groupama’s victory marks the Volvo Ocean Race’s eighth visit to Auckland and the first since the 2001-02 edition stopover in the city.

Volvo Ocean Race 2011 - 2012
March 10, 2012 - 1100 UTC

PUMA CLINCH SECOND PLACE AFTER MIGHTY THREE-WAY TUSSLE

VOR2012, Leg 4 Day 22 – PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG won an epic battle for second place on Leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race on Sunday, clinching the runner's up spot on a rainy morning in Auckland to complete a memorable comeback and secure their first offshore podium place in 2011-12.

Team Telefónica followed them in just under 50 minutes later for third after holding off CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand in a scrap that continued gybe-for-gybe all the way to the finish line.

Just around 93 seconds separated Telefónica, winners of the first three legs, and CAMPER -- a tiny margin after a leg that took the teams over 5,220 nautical miles from Sanya in China to the sailing-mad city of Auckland in New Zealand.

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing came in just under 34 minutes later for fifth, with Team Sanya the sixth boat in just over 35 minutes after that.

"I don't really know what we could have done better to improve our position," said Abu Dhabi skipper Ian Walker. "We got up to third place at one point. It was disappointing to finish fifth and now it's time for some downwind sailing."

Thousands of fans jammed into spectator craft to welcome the boats in and thousands more packed Auckland Viaduct Harbour after a drag race through the churning water completed a fantastic set of arrivals to mark the race's return to the city after a gap of 10 years.

"My God, I feel good to be in Auckland," said PUMA's American skipper Ken Read after the team had received a traditional Maori welcome into the harbour.

"From day one of this leg, ever since we sailed into the South China Sea, it's been tough. I know that's what we signed up for but man this was a challenging leg. This result is something we can build on. We just wish we had a couple more weeks to hang around in Auckland."

While Groupama sailing team were making a triumphant entry into the City of Sails on Saturday night, PUMA were nursing a slim advantage over the pack, with just 40 nautical miles separating the five boats as a tense, tactical race for the best way to play the currents and to avoid wind holes raged through the night.

PUMA managed to protect their lead, coming in at 10:33:47 UTC for a total elapsed time of 20 days 3 hours 57 minutes over the two stages of Leg 4, which began back on February 19 in Sanya, China with a short race around the bay and a delay to keep the fleet from the worst of the conditions in the South China Sea.

Telefónica now lead the overall standings with 121 points despite losing their perfect record offshore. Groupama have 103 points and take over second place from CAMPER, now back in third on 98, with PUMA fourth on 78.

"It's a really good result," said Telefónica skipper Iker Martínez. "The level is so high that to get on the podium is very difficult. The teams are so strong."

CAMPER skipper Chris Nicholson was not too downhearted after just failing to overtake Telefónica in a race that was as close as their run in to the finish in the Maldives on Leg 2.

"It was a really close race but we just ran out of runway at the end," said Nicholson, whose CAMPER team count Auckland as one of their two base ports. "It was the toughest leg so far. Now we're really tired and we're just looking forward to being home."

Sunday's result confirms that PUMA are back in business after the broken mast that saw them forced to retire from Leg 1, and gave them little time to prepare for Leg 2.

Second place into Auckland marks their first podium finish in an offshore leg and it came courtesy of a terrific comeback.

They started the leg with a 39 minute deficit after being hit by a windless patch while leading on Stage 1 and watching the fleet sail past them. It looked like ill luck was set to stay with them as they were forced on a more and more northerly course.

Their strategy worked, bringing them back in touch with the fleet after days of ever more lonely sailing towards Japan, before Groupama took control in a strong easterly position on day seven.

CAMPER hopes of challenging for the lead suffered a devastating blow when they tore their vital J2 headsail, losing 60 miles to Groupama in the process, and it became increasingly clear that this was all about the race for second.

The three boats behind Groupama stayed neck and neck all the way through to the finish, as behind them Abu Dhabi and Sanya closed the gap significantly.

Sanya, stranded 393 nm off the pace on day 17, were within 30 nm of PUMA by the final morning -- not quite close enough to challenge for a podium place but satisfied to have been part of a terrific scrap.

"It's very cool to be home and to have everyone out supporting us," said New Zealand native Sanderson. "I couldn't be any more proud of the leg we sailed. The fact that we kept up with and finished so close to the new boats just shows that we can be competitive."

Volvo Ocean Race 2011 - 2012
www.volvooceanrace.com
March 11, 2012 - 0100 UTC