Emily Nagel and her Team AkzoNobel team-mates secured a spot on the podium in the Volvo Ocean Race In-Port Race series in Hong Kong Harbour at the weekend.

The Dutch syndicate won the In-Port Race series on Saturday and were fifth in the Round the Island Race contested in extreme light winds yesterday.

The combined results put Nagel’s team in third place over the two races.

Team AkzoNobel are fourth in the series standings behind leaders Dongfeng Race Team, Mapfre and Team Brunel.

The Dutch team celebrated their first victory in the series after a close battle throughout the four-lap course with Chinese rival Dongfeng in the In-Port Series race on Saturday, taking the lead after a smart gybe on the first downwind run to the bottom mark.

“It was a really good race for us,” Nicolai Sehested, the Team AkzoNobel helmsman, said. “We didn’t make many mistakes even though it was a tricky racecourse with plenty of minefields.

“We had a close moment at one point with Dongfeng and Mapfre but luckily we got out of that unscathed and managed to escape once we had the lead. After that we kept it clean and were able to take the win.”

Simeon Tienpont, the Team AkzoNobel skipper, added: “Winning was on our minds from the start.

“We planned to sail our own race because it is tricky enough here with the wind shifts and the tides. Everything came together today — Nicolai did a great job on the helm as did Chris Nicholson on the tactics and Jules Salter on the navigation.”

Dongfeng crossed the line in second followed by Team Brunel in third.

Spanish syndicate Mapfre won the Round the Island Race yesterday. Dongfeng finished second and Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag, of Hong Kong, came third.