ALICANTE, SPAIN // As six hotshot sailboats on a gray Saturday midday peeled off one-by-one toward the great unknown, they also promised the greatest amount of unknown in Volvo Ocean Race history.
By all accounts from sailing scholars, this 11th round-the-world slog marks a departure from predecessors in that even the sages cannot peg an obvious winner or two from the mix, lending an air of enticement as Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing's Azzam had the early race leader's honour of edging out last.
The Leg 1 to South Africa and the churn to next July should be contentious "for sure", said Brad Jackson, a Puma watch leader on his sixth turn at this.
"I think the boats are all very well-prepared, very well-campaigned teams, and that hasn't always been the case in the past," he said.
"The teams all have equal amounts of money and resources to develop the boats and the people. And, people-wise, guys who have done well in the race previously are pretty much spread throughout the fleet.
"It's definitely going to be harder than ever to win and it's going to be about being consistent and trying to be top-three at times."
Ian Walker, the Abu Dhabi skipper, saw "six very, very similar boats," signalling "maybe more pressure than ever on the navigators and skippers to make the right decisions and never more so than how the weather's shaping up on this first leg".
Those navigators, skippers, 11-man crews, wives and children gathered on the docks for a brief ceremony and 66 farewells, the forecast promising a Mediterranean night of hardship. The public address blared, crowds bunched in to gawk and bluster whipped the palm trees. Azzam boasted two extra flags, a green one noting the "In-Port Race Winner" and an orange one noting "Overall Leader", with six early points.
Butti Al Muhairi spread well-wishes. The reserve Emirati sailor and Shore Team member hopped on to the boat to hug Nick Dana, the American who will record the journey as the mandatory media crew member.
For a long moment after that, Al Muhairi stood encouraging the onboard Adil Khalid, telling him not to worry, to look at the UAE flag when he felt weary.
"It's difficult to see the boat leaving," Al Muhairi said. "I don't know what to say. I don't think anyone was talking when they leave. Everyone was quiet."
Sue Law, the mother of the Azzam sailor Simon Fisher, said: "I'm not allowed to cry." An experienced sailor herself, she said that "SiFi", as everyone calls her son, is "so laid-back that he's not anxious. He's just excited to be out there".
Azzam motored off toward the choppy harbour as Al Muhairi touched the last bits of railing on the craft that has extracted so much of his sweat as well as that of the Shore Team and the sailors.
The yacht with the falcon-emblem spinnaker joined the five rivals bunched in the harbour for an initial back-and-forth designed for spectators, who massed along the seawall and upon jut-out rocks.
With the 6,500-mile Leg 1 under way, the chatter about the leg's meaning mirrored the sense of welcome uncertainty about the outcome.
Traditionally, the first to Cape Town wins the race, as in 2008/09 with Ericsson4 with both Azzam navigator Jules Salter and Jackson aboard.
"In previous races, it set quite a precedent for the rest of the race," Jackson said.
"Saying that, I don't think it's going to be quite as big a deal for this race. There are going to be lots of boats winning legs this time."
Mike Sanderson, the Team Sanya skipper, said: "The winner of the first leg might not be the winner, for the first time … and this is the first time ever you haven't been able to whittle it down to two boats if you were honest with yourself."
The Telefonica skipper Iker Martinez craved only a top-three finish in Cape Town, while Walker agreed but thought a distant third might daunt. "Your biggest concern is that the rest of the table are faster than you," Walker said. "I can tell you it's a pretty miserable nine months if they are."
Amid the doubt, the Camper skipper Chris Nicholson liked Telefonica and Puma in addition to his own contender, and said also, "I just look at Abu Dhabi and you just know that at certain angles and certain points of style, they're going to be very quick."
With possibilities aplenty, all six boats, with Azzam fourth on the surge out to sea, slipped off the horizon.
cculpepper@thenational.ae
@ For more on VOLVO OCEAN RACE, visit thenational.ae/topics
Breaking News: The Remaking of Journalism and Why It Matters Now
Alan Rushbridger, Canongate
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Our legal advisor
Rasmi Ragy is a senior counsel at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Prosecutor in Egypt with more than 40 years experience across the GCC.
Education: Ain Shams University, Egypt, in 1978.
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The specs: 2018 Audi Q5/SQ5
Price, base: Dh183,900 / Dh249,000
Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder / 3.0L, turbocharged V6
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic / Eight-speed automatic
Power: 252hp @ 5,000rpm / 354hp @ 5,400rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,600rpm / 500Nm @ 1,370rpm
Fuel economy: combined 7.2L / 100km / 8.3L / 100km
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Favourite Quote: “Real victories are those that protect human life, not those that result from its destruction emerge from its ashes,” by The late king Hussain of Jordan.
Favourite Hobby: Writing and cooking
Favourite Book: The Prophet by Gibran Khalil Gibran
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
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'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'
Rating: 1 out of 4
Running time: 81 minutes
Director: David Blue Garcia
Starring: Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, Mark Burnham
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
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How to increase your savings
- Have a plan for your savings.
- Decide on your emergency fund target and once that's achieved, assign your savings to another financial goal such as saving for a house or investing for retirement.
- Decide on a financial goal that is important to you and put your savings to work for you.
- It's important to have a purpose for your savings as it helps to keep you motivated to continue while also reducing the temptation to spend your savings.
- Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Five hymns the crowds can join in
Papal Mass will begin at 10.30am at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday
Some 17 hymns will be sung by a 120-strong UAE choir
Five hymns will be rehearsed with crowds on Tuesday morning before the Pope arrives at stadium
‘Christ be our Light’ as the entrance song
‘All that I am’ for the offertory or during the symbolic offering of gifts at the altar
‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Soul of my Saviour’ for the communion
‘Tell out my Soul’ as the final hymn after the blessings from the Pope
The choir will also sing the hymn ‘Legions of Heaven’ in Arabic as ‘Assakiroo Sama’
There are 15 Arabic speakers from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the choir that comprises residents from the Philippines, India, France, Italy, America, Netherlands, Armenia and Indonesia
The choir will be accompanied by a brass ensemble and an organ
They will practice for the first time at the stadium on the eve of the public mass on Monday evening
Results:
6.30pm: Maiden Dh 165,000 1,400m.
Winner: Walking Thunder, Connor Beasley (jockey), Ahmad bin Harmash (trainer).
7.05pm: Handicap (rated 72-87) Dh 165,000 1,600m.
Winner: Syncopation, George Buckell, Doug Watson.
7.40pm: Maiden Dh 165,000 1,400m.
Winner: Big Brown Bear, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.15pm: Handicap (75-95) Dh 190,000 1,200m.
Winner: Stunned, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: Handicap (85-105) Dh 210,000 2,000m.
Winner: New Trails, Connor Beasley, Ahmad bin Harmash.
9.25pm: Handicap (75-95) Dh 190,000 1,600m.
Winner: Pillar Of Society, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
ICC T20 Rankings
1. India - 270 ranking points
2. England - 265 points
3. Pakistan - 261 points
4. South Africa - 253 points
5. Australia - 251 points
6. New Zealand - 250 points
7. West Indies - 240 points
8. Bangladesh - 233 points
9. Sri Lanka - 230 points
10. Afghanistan - 226 points
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
