Scallywag, Hong Kong’s first ever entry in the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18, have announced three new crew members, Tom Clout (AUS), António Fontes (POR) and Dutch Olympic Silver medallist, Annemieke Bes (NED).
Skipper David Witt, who previously stated he was intending to sail with a crew of seven men, surprised many race watchers by including Bes as part of his final crew line up. New race rules, designed to incentivise teams to take female crew, limit an all-male crew to seven sailors. Under race rules, a mixed crew can include up to an additional two female sailors.*
Until this announcement, Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag was the only boat in the race not to have any female sailors. Witt, who has had time to review his crew decisions since Leg Zero (qualifying) is now more confident in the setup of his team.
“We’re really excited to have these three experienced sailors joining us at Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag. Annemieke and Tom have sailed with us before so we know what to expect in terms of their strengths and eeaknesses and where their skills will really enhance our overall performance.
“In addition to these two, António is a great asset, and altogether they have strengthened our team immensely from where we were when we started out two months ago.”
Bes was, until recently, part of team AkzoNobel, the Dutch entry in the race skippered by Simeon Tienpont, but recently made the switch to Witt’s team.
“I really look forward to sailing with Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag. I’ve known David from sailing back in Sydney and it’s always good fun to sail with him. The team are a great bunch of guys and we are working hard making final preparations ready for the October start date.”
Neither Clout nor Fontes has Volvo Ocean Race experience but Witt is confident their sailing experience and characters will contribute strongly to the team.
“I’m confident we’re now in a good position ahead of the start of the race and we will continue to improve throughout the legs as we work together as a new team.”
The boats are currently undergoing a final maintenance period in Lisbon ahead of sailing to Alicante for the start of the race on 22 October 2017.
Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag
David Witt (skipper, AUS), Steve Hales (GBR), Luke Parkinson (AUS), Mark Fullerton (NZ), Alex Gough (AUS), Ben Piggott (AUS), David Mann (AUS), John Fisher (UK), Tiger Mok (Hong Kong), Tom Clout (AUS), António Fontes (POR), Annemieke Bes (NED).
On Board Reporter: Konrad Frost (GBR).
*Other crew configurations include 10 sailors if the team consists of an even male/female split. An all-female team may race with 11 crew.