Scallywag sails up Victoria Harbour to win Leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race, and lead the fleet into their home port. It’s an historic win for team that grabbed the lead with a bold tactical call out of the Doldrums last weekend.
“We had a bit of a plan and we stuck to it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t and this time it worked for us.”
In an extended Doldrums crossing Scallywag came from behind to what appeared to be a strong position, only to fall behind the fleet again late in the crossing. Witt and navigator Libby Greenhalgh made the decision to cut the corner, and turn to the west earlier than the rest of the fleet who kept pressing north in search of stronger winds.
The move paid dividends nearly immediately on the leaderboard as Scallywag had less miles to sail to the finish line, but the armchair pundits cautioned that the teams in the north would almost certainly overhaul them as the tradewinds filled in from the northeast…
It never happened.
Even when the team dropped miles recovering a man overboard after Alex Gough was swept off the boat by a wave, after executing a flawless recovery, Scallywag returned to racing and extended to nearly a 100-mile lead.
But then, the chasing boats began chipping away at the lead. Two days out from the finish, the margin had been cut significantly and the pressure mounted.
“I was really impressed by the way we operated over the past couple of days,” Witt said. “We had a pretty big lead and then through no fault of our own, about two-thirds of it got taken away. But we stuck to our guns, did what we thought was right and it’s worked out.”
With the Leg 4 win, Scallywag picks up 8 points (7 points for first place plus a one point win bonus). It will vault the team up to mid-fleet on the overall leaderboard, in a very respectable fourth place.
“It was always going to take us longer than the others to get up to speed as we were the last to enter,” Witt said. “All teams need a bit of confidence and I think one thing that is underrated in sport is momentum and this will certainly give the Scallywags plenty of that… We’re all still learning and we’re going to keep getting better as we go on.”
Witt has acknowledged the significance of the win as the local team leading the fleet into the first ever Volvo Ocean Race stopover in Hong Kong. For the team owner, Seng Huang Lee, who has supported Scallywag sailing over the years, it’s a big moment.
“We’re a privately owned team and our owner Mr. Lee has poured his passion and enthusiasm and vision into this project and this win will be very special for him… Winning this leg will be a massive platform for Scallywag going forward.”
https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2018/Scallywag-Wins-Volvo-Ocean-Race-Leg-to-Hong-Kong/i-KnNcbRD
Additional reporting and images: Volvo Ocean Race, bc magazine