Volvo Ocean Race: Vestas 11th Hour Racing wins Leg 1

Photo: Jesús Renedo/VOR, full gallery at his fb page. Video & report by VOR / volvooceanrace.com  media. Dongfeng with Carolijn Brouwer & Marie Riou as team members finshed in 3rd place.

Pos Team Leg 1 Leg 2 Leg 3 Leg 4 Leg 5 Leg 6 Leg 7 Leg 8 Leg 9 Leg 10 Leg 11 Extra Tot
1 Vestas 11th Hour Racing 7 1 8
2 MAPFRE 6 6
3 Dongfeng Race Team 5 5
4 Team AkzoNobel 4 4
5 Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag 3 3
6 Team Brunel 2 2
7 Turn the Tide on Plastic 1 1

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Vestas 11th Hour Racing have won Leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race, crossing the finish line in the River Tagus in Lisbon, Portugal on Saturday afternoon.

It’s a tremendous victory for American skipper Charlie Enright and his team, who earn 8 points for their efforts (including a one point ‘bonus’ for winning the leg).

It wasn’t easy. The wind shut down on the final approach, and an early morning lead of 34-nautical miles over second-placed MAPFRE was whittled down to 10-miles, with the finish in sight, but the current in the river even pushing the leaders back out to sea in some of the lulls.

But the crew on the Vestas boat held their nerve, tacking first up and then down, zigzagging towards the line, into agonisingly light headwinds.

Click HERE to read more.

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