Dutchman Bouwe Bekking aids Team Brunel in Volvo Ocean Race

The 51-year-old called on all his experience to guide the team to a 16-minute winning margin over Dongfeng Race Team as the field headed from Cape Town to Abu Dhabi.

Bekking first competed in offshore sailing's leading event " one of the big three in the sport alongside the America-s Cup and Olympics " in the 1985-86 race, then known as the Whitbread Round the World Race.

He is now taking part in a record-equalling seventh Volvo Ocean Race at an age when most pro offshore sailors have called time on their careers.

Bekking is clearly still competitive, however, and a masterly late passing manoeuvre edged his side to a dramatic triumph.

The pair had staged offshore sailing's version of a sprint finish after a marathon, having set out 23 days and 16 hours before from Cape Town.

They had survived the threats of icebergs, a tropical storm, pirates in the Indian Ocean and then heavy shipping in the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf.

Bekking generally has a smile on his face, but it was even broader than usual as he guided his boat from the finish line to a packed dock in one of the world's richest nations.

"It is a good feeling," he said. "I've always said, it's better to be lucky than good but we've been good this leg as well so it's so nice to win this one because it could have been an easy leg to finish last.

"It's just really nice to get the scores but the team did a fantastic job, we sailed the boat much better than in the first leg."