24 Jan 2012

Camper well placed on Leg 3 of Volvo Ocean Race

6:08 am on 24 January 2012

The Team New Zealand boat Camper is second in a compressed Volvo Ocean Race fleet with Puma clinging to a slim lead on day two of the second stage of Leg 3 to Sanya.

There is just 10 nautical miles separating PUMA at the front of the pack and last placed Team Sanya and just over a mile between Camper and the leaders.

Groupama sailing team are one nautical mile shy of the New Zealanders in third place on the stage from the Maldives to China, with Team Telefónica fourth, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing in fifth and Team Sanya sixth.

The Camper skipper Chris Nicholson says his team were making tiny tweaks to their dagger boards, water ballast tanks, sheeting angles and weight distribution below deck in a bid to gain speed.

While the first night of racing is over the teams still have more than 2700 nautical miles and many challenges to overcome until their expected finish at China early next month.

Eighty percent of the points for Leg 3 are up for grabs on stage two.