Abu Dhabi pulls out of Volvo Ocean

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ALICANTE, Spain -- Only four boats were left racing in the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race on Friday after Abu Dhabi became the second team to pull out because of damage to the yacht.

The Emirati team, skippered by Britain's Ian Walker, sustained a broken mast within hours of the start of the race last Saturday.

The team managed to get a replacement mast delivered back to Alicante and fitted in time to return to the water on Wednesday for the first leg to Cape Town, South Africa. But, after two nights at sea, the team decided the mast and rigging would require more work to avoid more problems later in the race.

"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," Walker said by satellite phone from the boat. "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 two."

Abu Dhabi plans to ship the boat from Lisbon on Monday, to arrive in South Africa about Nov. 27.

Sanya, the only Chinese entry, lasted less than 24 hours before pulling out of the leg after sustaining a massive hole in the bow during brutal conditions in the Mediterranean on the first night. Sanya is also shipping its stricken boat to South Africa.

The second in-port race will be held in Cape Town on Dec. 10, with the second leg to Abu Dhabi starting the following day.

The race, which is in its 11th edition, began with a smaller fleet than usual after struggling to get teams to commit to expensive campaigns during the current financial crisis.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

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