Volvo Ocean Race

Sanya skipper Mike Sanderson has promised a comeback from a “shocking” 24 hours that saw them slip to 60 nautical miles behind leaders Team Telefónica.

Andrés Soriano/Team… Andrés Soriano/Team… Andrés Soriano/Team… Andres Soriano/Team…

The race’s first sole Chinese entry fell foul of a series of squalls that left them becalmed on several occasions while their rivals continued to punch towards the Malacca Strait.

However Sanderson, who skipped ABN AMRO ONE to victory in the 2005-06 edition, said their deficit could become an advantage once into the Strait if the rest of the fleet get caught in light airs.

“We have had a shocking 24 hours from a racing standpoint,” Sanderson explained. “We got raked over by a series of black clouds; one in particular saw us lose more then 20 miles to the fleet.

“A cloud travelled upwind against the trades and grabbed us, parked us up for a while and then had us sailing downwind for as long as two hours while we tried to make the most of it.

“After the cloud passes the old breeze needs to re-establish itself in the wake of what is a pretty big weather system so sure enough there we flopped, knowing the whole time that the other guys where sailing away at 12 or 13 knots.

“When back in the breeze finally we got nailed twice by some more normal far smaller clouds, one a loss of six miles and one of five. So that’s been our day.”

Despite the distance between Sanya and the frontrunners almost doubling from just over 30nm to 60nm at the 1300 UTC position report, Sanderson said his crew could stage a comeback with clever sailing through the Malacca Strait, the narrow body of water between Malaysia and Sumatra that is notoriously difficult to navigate.

“What this does mean is that we are perfectly position for our “Buffalo Girls” move that I spoke about the other day – they park up and we go round the outside,” Sanderson added.

“Okay, pretty wishful thinking, but remember this is from a glass half full crew!

“Our boat hasn’t skipped a beat and we haven’t had one small breakage and the guys are great as always, just pushing, pushing the whole time trying to keep us in the game.

“The reality is we have a speed deficit to the new boats and so, like we did in the last leg, we will need to hit some calculated corners to get this thing on the podium. We just need to be patient and wait for a goodie.”

As the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race proved when PUMA Ocean Racing’s il mostro jumped from fourth to second, the Malacca Strait holds the potential for a leaderboard reshuffle.

“All the planning we have done for this section of the race shows what a game of snakes and ladders it could end up being,” Sanderson said. “Fingers crossed that we are rich with ladders!”