Emirates Team New Zealand had a frustrating day in the first in-port race of the 2011/12 Volvo Ocean Race, but still managed a podium finish in Alicante, Spain early today.
The light, shifty conditions made for challenging conditions which resulted in the course being shortened to four legs and saw
Team NZ finishing third behind Abu Dhabi and Puma.
After starting strongly in a moderating 10 to 12 knot north/north easterly and sitting in second place for the first two legs, Team NZ suffered from a slow mark rounding to slip to last before battling back through the fleet to take third place pocketing four points.
Skipper Chris Nicholson says the sailing conditions were incredibly tricky.
"At times we had 40/50 degree wind shifts and pressure dying away to almost nothing. These boats get sticky in light conditions and that really showed out there today," he said.
