#VOLVOOCEANRACE – Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing has retired from Leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race today in almost windless conditions having returned to racing early on Thursday following their dismasting on the first night. Wexford's Justin Slattery is part of the nine man Abu Dhabi crew under skipper Ian Walker.

The decision leaves four of the fleet of six still racing the first stage, the 6,500-nautical mile leg from Alicante, Spain to Cape Town. Team Sanya also pulled out after suffering substantial damage to the boat's hull on Sunday.

An Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing spokesperson said: "Despite the heroics performed by the shore crew in getting our yacht Azzam re-masted after it was damaged last week in high seas and strong winds, the team believes that the estimated arrival time in Cape Town would be counter-productive for its preparations for Leg 2, especially given the almost windless prevailing weather conditions in the Mediterranean.

"Azzam's mast and rigging system have not been compromised and the decision is purely one of time management."

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing will now sail to Lisbon, Portugal with an expected arrival time of Saturday evening. Azzam will then be shipped to Cape Town to arrive around November 28.

The decision will give the team suitable time to ensure the boat and the team are 100 percent ready for the Cape Town In-Port Race on December 10.

"Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing is steadfast in its commitment to return to the race from Cape Town," the spokesperson said.

Abu Dhabi's shore crew worked around the clock to replace a mast broken in three places on Saturday night, around six hours after the leg start, when the boat crashed into a huge wave while sailing in the Mediterranean towards Gibraltar.

Skipper Ian Walker explained: "Since dismasting shortly after the start on Saturday our team and Future Masts have worked tirelessly to fit our spare mast and examine the cause of the original mast failure.

"We need time to make modifications to our rigging system in Cape Town and the only way we can gain that time is to travel to Cape Town by ship. This has been one of the hardest decisions of my life to make but I have to consider not only the safety of the crew but the long term interests of the project."

The British double Olympic silver medallist continued: "This is only the first leg of a long race and with this decision and a lot of hard work we can be race ready for Leg 2.

"I am particularly sad as this is my favourite leg of the race and the whole crew had been looking forward so much to it. I wish all the teams left in the leg fair winds and we will be there to greet them in Cape Town."

#ABU DHABI DISMASTING – "I knew there were going to be problems because my feet left the deck" skipper Ian Walker  describes the moment of impact when his Abu Dhabi yacht hit a huge wave and lost its mast in the first hours of the Volvo Ocean Race. The team is back in port and are attempting to rebuild the mast and get going again. Hear the latest from an understandibly emotional Ian Walker dockside here:

Puma Skipper Ken Read heard about the dismasting and has chimed in with his take on the disaster, calling it a 'curse' for winning the first In-Port Race in the Volvo, which Abu Dhabi did.

Two races ago Ericsson won the first In-Port only to have keel ram problems and limped into Cape Horn. Last edition, Telefonica Blue won the first In-Port only to break part of their rudder assembly about an hour into the race and had to go in to port to fix it. Now Abu Dhabi.

A traditional Irish sailing boat is on the way to Abu Dhabi in a cultural exchange that will also see six Arabian dhows in Galway for the finish of the Volvo Ocean Race next summer.

The National reports that the near-century-old Galway hooker Nora Bheag is being transported to the United Arab Emirates as part of a Maritime Heritage Cultural Exchange initiative, co-ordinated by Irish expat Peter Vine. (Track its progress at marinetraffic.com.)

On her way: Nora Bheag heads for Abu Dhabi. Photo: Boyd Challenger

According to the Galway Independent, the boat is currently en route to Rotterdam in a container loaded with a small curach named Noa. 

Plans to include turf and bottles of poitin were abandoned, however, due to customs concerns - instead two hurleys and a sliotar will make the trip.

Nora Bheag is expected to reach port by early December ahead of the Volvo Ocean Race fleet which arrives on 1 January, marking the first time the city has hosted and taken part in the race.

Vine says he came up with the idea of the boat swap because of the two countries' shared maritime heritage.

There are many similarities between hookers and dhows, too, from their comparable sail shapes to their usage for fishing and personal transport.

"This will be a huge common shared experience that will build true friendships and a real cultural exchange," said Vine. "I am hugely grateful to Emirates Heritage Club, which has done so much to revive Arabian dhows, for making such a project possible."

The National has more on the story HERE.

Meanwhile a delegation from Galway is set to travel to Spain later this week for the launch of the Volvo Ocean Race.

A week of events begins this Saturday ahead of the start of the race proper on 5 November in Alicante.

Abu Dhabi's The National has an interview with David Hassett, commercial director of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and Irish yachting veteran, ahead of the city's hosting of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Hassett was instrumental in bringing the race to Galway in 2009, and was one of the team behind the Green Dragon, Ireland's underdog entry which took the yachting world by surprise by clinching three podium finishes.

This time round, Hassett is hoping to work similar magic for Abu Dhabi as it hosts a stopover of the next Volvo Ocean Race at the end of the year - and enters its own yacht in the competition, with at least one Emirati crewman on board.

As commercial director, 40-year-old Hassett - originally from Cork and a championship sailor in his youth - is responsible not only for raising funds, but making sure that his sponsors get the best return on their investment. And that means getting their race entry seen.

"It's my job to ensure that the billboard is effective," he says. "Everywhere the boat goes, the name Abu Dhabi goes and it becomes synonymous."

Top pritority for Hassett is marketing Abu Dhabi as a "winter watersports destination", and encourage more people in the region to get off their jet skis and into sailing.

The National has more on the story HERE.