bc magazine

Talking, Volvo Ocean Race Skippers

The Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 starts on Sunday, when seven of the best sailing teams in the world cross the start line in Alicante, Spain to commence the 45,000 nautical mile race. The course traverses some of the most challenging waters in the world, including long miles in the extremes of the Southern Ocean.

Ahead of the start the seven skippers faced the international media at the opening press conference. Here’s what they said, in their own words:

Charles Caudrelier, skipper, Dongfeng Race Team, comparing his preparation for this race, to last time: “Last time, when we started the project, we were in China meeting Chinese sailors who had never spent a night offshore, and teaching them how to sail. This time we started in Lisbon, with a team I already know. Since the beginning we are 100-percent focused on the performance. That makes a big change.”

What’s the difference between doing the race as crew and skipper? “The salary (laughing). There’s also the responsibility, of course. When I did the Volvo Ocean Race with Groupama, when I arrived at every stopover my mind was able to switch off. This time, throughout 9 months you never stop. The big pressure never stops. But I have a strong team around me so I’m a lucky skipper I think.”

Dee Caffari, skipper, Turn the Tide on Plastic, comparing sailing single-handed to fully-crewed: “In terms of sailing around the world solo or with a team, it makes a big difference when you have people to share it with and you have more pairs of hands when things happen. The intensity is the thing that gave me the buzz in a team environment, and knowing that you’re pushing 100-percent all the time. Your peers around you punish any mistake you make. It’s that intensity that attracts me.”

“Everyone talks about Turn the Tide on Plastic as inexperienced. A lot of my sailors are first timers but they are very skilled sailors and they can make a boat go fast. We just need to make sure we don’t make any mistakes, and that we sail to the right place.”

“To create an opportunity for young sailors to sail in the Volvo Ocean Race and see them grow and blossom is a great privilege – as well as getting to spread a great sustainability message.”

David Witt, skipper, Team Scallywag, on his motivation for doing the race and his teammates: “It’s the best team sport in the world, I think. I got a good commercial offer – and I couldn’t find a better way to lose weight!!”

“As has been recorded, I’m a lunatic but I think we’re all lunatics together. The young kid (Ben Piggott) started sailing dinghies with me three years ago and ended up here. He’s still dreaming.”

“Right now, I’m finding it harder to stay on shore and stay out of trouble. As long as you have good people around you, it’s fine, and it’s safer on the boat then any other race I’ve been in.”

Alicante stopover. Skippers Press Conference. Photo by Pedro Martinez/Volvo Ocean Race. 20 October, 2017.

Brad Jackson, skipper, team AkzoNobel, on taking over as skipper in the week before the start: “Team-wise, we’re just focusing on the race. Basically, we have the same team as we had before except (without) Simeon. It’s thanks to him that we have the team we have. Not too much has changed in terms of how we’re going to work on board or the crew morale. The last few days we’ve been able to focus on what we’re going to do.”

“We were lucky that Rome Kirby was available and qualified and ready to go. He’s another Under-30 so that brings us up to 5 Under-30s in the team. It’s a young team but Rome has done the race before with me on PUMA and he has a lot of experience for a young guy. He’s a young, fast guy.”

“I’m in this role because it’s necessary, for sure. It hasn’t been a dream of mine to be a skipper. It’s not something I’ve felt the need to do, but the situation has arisen and I’m happy to take it on. I wouldn’t t do it if I didn’t think I had the full support of my team. I hope I enjoy it, I hope it goes well, but it’s not something I’ve been pushing for, or jumping around, saying, ‘Pick me! Pick me!’”

Xabi Fernández, skipper Mapfre, on being tabbed the favourite based on pre-race results: “For us it’s not about being the favourites. That’s not something we talk about, but we do realise that people think that way. It just makes me think we are ready. We have to sail as fast as we can. I think we are ready but I know these guys around us, on the other teams, are going to be ready as well.”

“Hopefully, we can win. I don’t know. We’ve been close before and it didn’t happen. We know how difficult and long it is to win the race.”

Bouwe Bekking, skipper, Team Brunel, on why he keeps coming back and how he recruited his team: “It’s the best thing you can do… Everyone sitting here is a competitor and a sportsman. We all want to win. We have a very good chance of winning this competition.

“We were late at the table but that actually gave us an opportunity. The America’s Cup had just finished. I was racing on the J class and bumped into Carlo Huisman, who had been sailing on Team New Zealand. Through him I got in contact with Pete Burling and the next thing I knew we had the golden boy on the team. He’s won the Olympics, won the America’s Cup, and we also have Kyle Langford, who won the Cup twice.

“The America’s Cup sailors approach the race differently from us, the old school guys. They have a great intensity, and they look hard at everything to do with performance.”

Charlie Enright, skipper, Vestas 11th Hour Racing, comparing his youthful team in the last race, to the experienced crew he has now: “We’re still a young and fresh team. The last time, youth was our thing. Having been around the planet now we’ve logged a lot of miles and we’ve added some crew with a lot of experience. We showed a lot of improvement in the last race from the start in Alicante to the finish in Gothenburg and we want to maintain that trajectory. We won the last leg of the last race and we want to do the same here.”

Leg Zero,SHK Onboard,. Video by Konrad Frost/Volvo Ocean Race. 21July,2017..Onboard sailing action

Speaking about the rule change for 2017-18 incentivising the inclusion of female sailors:

Bouwe Bekking: “It’s great for sailing in general. It would have been very nice to choose our own team but as soon as the rules came out, I said we have to have 2 girls on board. We’ve got the best two girls we can. Abby Ehler is our boat captain and Annie Lush running the sail department. They’re great sailors with serious roles.”

Xabi Fernández: “I guess like Bouwe, new rules are always scary but we trialled some people. We have Sophie Ciszek, who sailed on Team SCA. She knows the boat, is very strong, does the bow and is very complete. And we trialled Támara very hard. She’s very talented and comes from the Olympics, having won gold in London. It was harder for her but I’m very pleased that she improved a lot and was able to win her place.”

Charlie Enright: “I was excited to see the rule change. I think the Volvo Ocean Race was right to incentivise rather than mandate the change. We did two trans-atlantics immediately after getting the boat and it was quickly apparent that it was going to be a competitive advantage.”

David Witt: “We’ve always had girls on our team for the past 15 years so I think we have an advantage here. Steve (Hayles) and I did some math. We think the boats are slow and underpowered at times and we think the lighter you are the better. Overall, we think we’ll have an advantage being lighter. We’ve decided to go with eight sailors on board so I can give Steve more support downstairs. Sailing the boat (with 7) isn’t hard but it is tough performing more than one role (and supporting the navigator). Annemieke Bes is another lunatic.”

Dee Caffari: “I would hazard a guess that those who were reluctant to sail under the new rule can now say it’s not that bad.”

The Volvo Ocean Race starts at 14:00 local time (12:00 UTC) on Sunday, 22 October and it will be live-streamed on www.volvooceanrace.com and www.facebook.com/volvooceanrace.

Leg One is a 1,450 nautical mile sprint to Lisbon, taking the fleet through the Strait of Gibraltar, past the island of Porto Santo, and then to the finishing line off Lisbon.

Additional reporting: Volvo Ocean Race

Scallywag Stumbles As Mapfre Win Alicante In-port Race

Local boat Xabi Fernández’s Mapfre were a popular winner in the first point scoring race of the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race.

Fernández and his team made a bold call at the start to duck behind the entire fleet in order to sail up what turned out to be the favoured right hand side of the course, coming from behind to earn a narrow lead at the first gate.

“It was pretty clear from Joan (Vila) and Rob (Greenhalgh) that we wanted to hit the right side of the course in the first upwind looking for more breeze,” explained Fernández. “Our intention was to start on port but Pablo (Arrarte) saw the gap himself when Brunel did a poor tack and they couldn’t accelerate so we want for the cross and we had plenty of room and once we hit the right everything went well.”

Mapfre sailed away to establish a lead of nearly one-minute at the bottom gate, giving them a lead they would enjoy the rest of the way.

“The truth is it hasn’t been an easy race but we took a bit of a risk at the start,” Fernández said after the finish. “We saw the gap in front of Brunel and we went for it. Everything went really well.”

In fact, the Spanish team sailed a flawless race, in terms of strategy and execution, and were never threatened after grabbing the lead at the first mark.

But behind them, it was a hard-fought race. Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag was strong on the first leg, but dropped back over the course of the race. In contrast, Dongfeng Race Team fought up the fleet to grab second place, battling with Vestas 11th Hour Racing and Team Brunel who were trading places throughout the race.

“There was a lot of action! Mapfre played their own game alone but behind them, we had a big fight for second place. It’s good, it’s good,” said skipper Charles Caudrelier on Dongfeng Race Team.

“We showed how we can sail well, after having not such good results in the last few days. It’s great that we managed to come back and get this result.”

“It was a very exciting first In-Port Race for us,” said Charlie Enright, the skipper of Vestas 11th Hour Racing. “They’re always really close. You know, when you’re racing these 65-foot canting keel boats around a one-mile track it gets interesting, with a lot of exchanges and big headsails and a lot of grinding. We did some good things and some bad things and got third place. All in all, not a bad way to start the campaign.”

“I had a bad start and that put us on the back foot,” said Bouwe Bekking the skipper of Team Brunel. “But we sailed the boat very nicely. All in all, we’re pretty happy with how we sailed today.”

Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag made a late gain to grab fifth over team AkzoNobel with Turn the Tide on Plastic never recovering from a poor first leg.

“It was okay. Fifth’s not great but it was okay. We were second at the top but we just made one mistake on the first run and it cost us. Basically, it was good. Amazing to be racing here in Alicante,” said David Witt, the skipper of Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag.

Volvo Ocean In-Port Race Alicante Provisional Results

Position	Team	Elapsed Time	Points
1	MAPFRE	54:38	7
2	Dongfeng Race Team	56:06	6
3	Vestas 11th Hour Racing	56:54	5
4	Team Brunel	57:13	4
5	Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag	58:07	3
6	team AkzoNobel	58:31	2
7	Turn the Tide on Plastic	59:39	1

Additional reporting and images: Volvo Ocean Race, Pedro Martinez, Ainhoa Sanchez

Volvo Ocean Race First In-port Race Featuring Hong Kong’s Scallywag

The first official racing of the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race takes place on the 14 October with the first In-Port race in the start port of Alicante.

Who will win the first points scoring event of the race? The start gun is at 14:00 local time (12:00 UTC) as seven of the best sailing teams in the world push hard to lay down a marker ahead of the main race start.

“You always go out and want to win,” said Bouwe Bekking, skipper of Team Brunel, who will have Alberto (Albi) Bolzan on the helm for the race. “He’s an excellent helmsman. He has a lot of hours driving these boats but he’s also one of the smaller guys on board and it’s important to have power on the winches for these in-port races.”

“I think the most important thing for the in-port race is to treat it as practice for the race start for the offshore leg,” said Charles Caudrelier, speaking from experience after starting behind the fleet on the Prologue leg. “Even on the long legs, the start is important… it helps the team to be confident to get the lead early.”

“A lot of the sailors on our team come from short course racing,” said Dee Caffari the skipper on Turn the Tide on Plastic. “So they get a real buzz out of this. They’re all over this style of racing. I have to remind them that a Volvo Ocean 65 takes a bit longer to manoeuvre and we can’t go as close to the other boats as they’re used to, so I have to manage expectations a bit!”

The In-Port Race Alicante is two laps of a windward-leeward course, set with a target time of 45-minutes. The course is set up with a gate system, with two top (windward) marks and two bottom (leeward) marks.

In Friday’s practice session, MAPFRE took the win over Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag, who impressed with their best showing, and Vestas 11th Hour Racing, who took third place, completing the podium.

Additional reporting and images: Volvo Ocean Race

Volvo Ocean Race Prologue Offers Final Tune-up Ahead of Start

The seven Volvo Ocean Race skippers will have a final oppourtunity to tune their boats on the Prologue Leg, a non-scoring race to the start port of Alicante, Spain. It’s a last chance for teams to lock in crew configurations and get in some speed testing against the competition ahead of the start of Leg 1 on October 22.

“This is the last opportunity for all of the boats to face each other before we start,” says Mark Towill of Vestas 11th Hour Racing. “We’ll be lining up against the other teams to check the things we’ve learned during testing compared to the rest of the fleet.”

Towill and his team have been training against team AkzoNobel. The Dutch team’s Luke Molloy spoke of the benefit from the sessions.

“The two boat training sessions we did with Vestas 11th Hour Racing were definitely very valuable and actually quite eye opening in a few areas,” he confirms. “Just to check on some of our sail crossovers and lock down what we think we know in some other performance areas.”

Turn the Tide on Plastic skipper Dee Caffari says she’ll be giving some of her crew who have less offshore miles time on board during the Prologue, as her team makes the transition from training to competition.

“It’s an opportunity to get back into race mode,” she says. “It’s almost a practice of Leg 1, because we’re going from Lisbon to Alicante and that’s going to be the reverse for Leg 1 so it’s nice to suss it out.”

Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag, disappointed with its results this summer during Leg Zero, will be racing with some new crew members and navigator Steve Hayles says the team will be looking to bed in improvements made during practice over the past month.

“I think (on Leg Zero) everything was sub-par, so this is a good chance to put into effect everything we’ve been doing since. We’ve been sailing hard, we’ve done at least as many miles as anyone else, and so this is a good opportunity to cement those changes. Nothing is as good a measure of where you stand as going racing and hopefully we’ve made a big step up in our team performance.”

Rob Greenhalgh, about to embark with the Spanish team MAPFRE on his fifth Volvo Ocean Race, is looking forward to this final look at the opposition.

“It’s pretty important. Everyone’s going to be keen to check in,” he says. “We’ll be keen to race properly… we won’t be backed off. We’ll be going for it!”

Dongfeng Racing team director Bruno Dubois will see his team leave the dock in Lisbon satisfied they have done what they need to do to be ready to race by the start of Leg 1.

“My objective was to make sure we put everything in place and didn’t leave anything to chance,” Dubois explains. “We made a plan and we’ve stayed to it. Maybe someone is going to head out in Leg 1 and be very fast, but we’ve done what we needed to do to make our boat ready and fast for the start of the race. After that, well, it’s a long race.”

Dongfeng Race Team goes sailing in their re-fitted Volvo Ocean 65 as they begin training for the 2017-18 edition.

The weather forecast offers a mixed bag that will get the wrinkles out of all the new sails the teams have installed in Lisbon. The boats will race upwind through the Gibraltar Straight early on Tuesday morning against the infamous Levanter easterly wind that could accelerate to over 30kts, all while penned in by a narrow coast, heavy shipping exclusion zones and coastal fishing nets. Forced into a 1.5-mile wide channel, skippers will be balancing the desire to push for a good result in their last warm-up versus the need to protect new sails that need to last 45,000 miles around the world.

Bouwe Bekking, the skipper of Team Brunel, was very candid about placing a priority on protecting his equipment.

“It’s about finding that balance between pushing the boat, getting it ready, and putting the least amount of hours on the new sails,” he says. “If there is a lot of wind, we’ll want to save our sails… that’s just what we have to do.”

After the Straights, the fleet will continue upwind through the Alboran Sea along the south Spanish coast in an uncomfortable sea state created by fresh easterlies running over the permanent eastwards current created by the Atlantic flowing into the Mediterranean. Turning northwards by Cabo de Gata, the wind is expected to drop to just 5 knots from the east, pushing the homecoming in the Alicante race village deep into Wednesday evening.

“We heard all the stories about how the Race Village in Alicante is nearly ready and everyone is waiting for us to arrive,” Caffari says. “And I know from the moment we arrive, the circus begins and it is pretty much non-stop. The time will fly by and we’ll be crossing that start line and heading away from Alicante for Leg 1 in no time.”

Follow the prologue at www.volvooceanrace.com.

Images: Benoit Stichelbaut/Dongfeng Race Team; Konrad Frost/Volvo Ocean Race

Scallywag Adds to Volvo Ocean Race Crew

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.

MAPFRE Win Qualifying Sprint

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/Volvo-Ocean-Race-2017-18/i-9HtxSNQ

Xabi Fernández and his in-form MAPFRE team claimed their second victory in Leg Zero qualifying with another commanding performance in the build-up to the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18.

MAPFRE had a lead of seven nautical miles when they crossed the finish line off the iconic French sailing city of Saint-Malo.

Team Brunel took second place in their first race sailing with new recruit Peter Burling, the Olympic gold medalist and America’s Cup winning helmsman, whose signing was announced just hours before the fleet’s departure from England’s south coast.

Dongfeng Race Team, the Chinese entry with a French skipper, Charles Caudrelier, completed the podium to maintain their own excellent form in the series – and were followed by Vestas 11th Hour Racing, team AkzoNobel, Turn the Tide on Plastic and Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag.

MAPFRE’s latest victory was barely in doubt in a race they dominated following a decisive moment shortly after the Plymouth start. “It’s a very good result for us, and it’s been a really good leg for us from beginning to end,” said MAPFRE skipper Xabi Fernández. “We made some good choices going offshore, finding the sea breeze and beating the current, as we watched the other teams struggle with the current. I’m really pleased with our result.”

MAPFRE chose to dive south with Vestas 11th Hour Racing and Turn the Tide on Plastic. The others chose a route down the coast that required an exhausting gybing duel. When the fleet came back together, the offshore option had paid off, and Brunel and Dongfeng Race Team switched sides to choose the southern option with MAPFRE and Vestas 11th Hour Racing.

The fleet then had to negotiate a barrier of light winds that blocked the route. The calms were narrower in the south and the four boats that had invested in this option slowed but continued moving whereas Sun Hung Kai/ Scallywag went backwards on the tide, completely becalmed.

After the turning mark by the Needles and a drag race across the English Channel, excitement awaited in the tidal acceleration zone next to the French coast.

Just like stepping onto a moving walkway at the airport, the speeds on every boat jumped from 13 knots to 19 as they were pushed by a river of current in the ocean. From there, MAPFRE were never challenged.

For Burling, it was a first experience of racing onboard a One Design Volvo Ocean 65 – and he said that the short race to France was the perfect introduction to the Volvo Ocean Race.

“It’s been great to get out and race – I have a lot to learn but Leg Zero is a really good way for me to ease into this,” said the Kiwi. “I think we’re in good stead for the future considering how little training this team has done.”

Leg Zero, stage 3 results, Plymouth to Saint-Malo:
1. MAPFRE elapsed time 0629 UTC
2. Team Brunel 0710
3. Dongfeng Race Team 0719
4. Vestas 11th Hour Racing 0728
5. Team AkzoNobel 0732
6. Turn the Tide on Plastic 0835
7. Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag 0908

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/Volvo-Ocean-Race-2017-18/i-RhKcbKN

The teams will complete Leg Zero qualifying with a race from Saint-Malo to Lisbon, starting on Sunday at 1050 UTC and with an ETA of Wednesday.

MAPFRE now have a three-point advantage at the top of the Leg Zero standings, with two wins and a runners-up spot from the three races to date. While an overall winner will be declared, no points will be carried forward to the Volvo Ocean Race itself, which starts on 22 October.

Overall Leg Zero standings after 3 of 4 races:
1. MAPFRE 23 points
2. Team Brunel 20
3. Dongfeng Race Team 19
4. Team AkzoNobel 15
5. Vestas 11th Hour Racing 12
6. Turn the Tide on Plastic 9
7. Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag 7

Photos: Jen Edney, James Blake, Volvo Ocean Race

Dongfeng Win Volvo Ocean Race Fastnet Leg Zero

China’s Dongfeng Race Team edged out MAPFRE by just 56 seconds in a Rolex Fastnet Race thriller in the early hours of Wednesday, as an intense night of lead changes and fickle winds ended with the entire fleet separated by less than 40 minutes after more than 600 miles of racing.

Victory for Charles Caudrelier’s team keeps it tight at the top of Leg Zero qualifying for the Volvo Ocean Race – and heralds an epic battle to come when the race around the world begins from Alicante on 22 October.

MAPFRE and Dongfeng had the best start back in Cowes on Sunday, stayed close all the way around the race course and finally finished just metres from each other after fighting all the way to finish line off the Plymouth breakwater.

Dongfeng crossed the line at 04:18:10 local time, with MAPFRE following shortly afterwards at 04:19:06.

Bouwe Bekking’s Team Brunel were next over the line – a result that will give them a massive boost given that their preparations started so late – followed by team AkzoNobel in fourth. Vestas 11th Hour Racing, Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag and Turn the Tide on Plastic completed the fleet arrivals – and with just over 39 minutes between the first and last placed boats, they will be boosted by the belief that they can close the gap further by October.

Volvo Ocean 65s in the Rolex Fastnet Race:

1. Dongfeng Race Team: 2 days 15 hours 38 minutes 10 seconds
2. MAPFRE: 2 days 15 hours 39 minutes 06 seconds
3. Team Brunel: 2 days 15 hours 45 minutes 47 seconds
4. team AkzoNobel: 2 days 15 hours 52 minutes 40 seconds
5. Vestas 11th Hour Racing: 2 days 16 hours 09 minutes 11 seconds
6. Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag: 2 days 16 hours 13 minutes 53 seconds
7. Turn the Tide on Plastic: 2 days 16 hours 17 minutes 32 seconds

Dongfeng leveraged their experience on how to set up the boat from the last race, and their crew’s local knowledge of these tricky coastlines, at times demonstrating superior boat speed and superb navigational choices.

Critical moments in their victory were when they regained the lead from team AkzoNobel before the Fastnet rounding and later, perfect navigation on the return from the Rock that saw them split from the fleet on the downwind run and pass through the obstacles around the Scilly Isles with fewer maneuvers.

Leg Zero, Rolex Fastnet Race: Day 2 Morning on board SHK, . Photo by Konrad Frost/Volvo Ocean Race. 07August, 2017

Despite often leading the fleet, Caudrelier revealed at the finish that their victory was far from certain. “We were leading at the Fastnet, leading the downwind and then suddenly, in big clouds we lost everything, we were last! Then another cloud helped us to come back, but afterwards MAPFRE were still there. They came back, passed us but we passed again. It was a nice fight with MAPFRE.”

A testament to the close racing, MAPFRE skipper Xabi Fernández explained that the final finishing order was determined by one crucial gust. Dongfeng were able to furl and drop their masthead zero before MAPFRE and pass the Spanish boat when they were caught out with too much sail up.

“At the end we had a big sail and a 20-knot gust hit us, while Dongfeng had a smaller sail,” explained Xabi. “It’s a pity but it was a very good race for us.”

Brunel’s third place finish – after they grabbed second in the record-breaking race around the Isle of Wight last Wednesday – was another sign that Bouwe Bekking’s team have hit the ground running after announcing their participation only recently.

“The team has done extremely well,” said the Dutchman. “They all dug in 100% and I think everyone can look each other in the eye and say for the time being we got the maximum out of the team. We learnt a heck of a lot. I think that’s the most important thing.”

Overall Leg Zero rankings after 2 of 4 stages:

Mapfre 15 points
Dongfeng Race Team 13
Brunel 13
AkzoNobel 11
Vestas 11th Hour Racing 7
Turn the Tide on Plastic 6
Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag 5

There are two more races to go in the Leg Zero series of qualifiers. On Thursday, the fleet will race from Plymouth to Saint-Malo in France. After a non-scoring Pro-Am Race on Saturday, the teams will complete the series with a race from Saint-Malo to Lisbon, starting on Sunday.

While an overall Leg Zero winner will be declared, based on equal scoring for each of the four stages, no points will be carried forward to the Volvo Ocean Race itself.

Additional reporting: Volvo Ocean Race
Photos: Copyright of their respective owners

Hong Kong’s Team Scallywag Announce Volvo Ocean Race Crew

Hong Kong’s first ever Volvo Ocean Race entry Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag have announced their crew for the upcoming 2017-18 edition. Led by skipper David Witt, it features a mix of rookies and veterans, including a winner from 2014-15, a history-making navigator back for his sixth edition and local sailor Tiger Mok,.

Australian Luke Parkinson, who won the trophy as a rookie onboard Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing last edition, will race as part of skipper Witt’s crew – and he is joined by navigator Steve Hayles, who returns to the event after almost a decade.

“I’m delighted to have a crew of guys I’ve known for a long time – they’re all great sailors, and we’ve done a lot of miles together over the years” said Witt

Hayles made his debut as a 20-year-old onboard Reebok/Dolphin & Youth in 1993-94 – and still holds the title as the youngest ever navigator to compete in the history of the event. He went on to make it five consecutive races over 15 years, onboard Silk Cut in 1997-98, Team Tyco in 2001-02, Ericsson in 2005-06 and Green Dragon in 2008-09.

Also named in Witt’s squad are New Zealand’s Mark Fullerton, who raced with Brunel in the 2005-06 edition, Briton John Fisher, Hong Kong’s Tiger Mok and Australian trio David Mann, Alex Gough and Ben Piggott.

“Steve Hayles is the best navigator I’ve ever sailed with, and Luke Parkinson comes with bags of Volvo Ocean 65 experience. That’s one of the areas where we’re a little bit light, so he’s a big asset to us and brings a lot to the team.”

“We want to create a team ethos where everyone can reach their potential in whatever their role is – and to do that, you’ve got to trust and respect each other 100%,” Witt added.

“We’re all a team and want to succeed in a team, but we recognise that part of our role is to promote and let everyone be as good as they can in an individual role in the team without ego or conflict.”

“Tiger (Mok) is Hong Kong born and bred, and he’s a great sailor,” continued Witt. “He will race some legs – and he’s also the backup navigator, so will do a lot of onshore navigation and work closely with Steve (Hayles). Having him onboard will help to build the profile of the sport in the region, and encourage kids in Hong Kong to see that there’s a real future in offshore sailing.”

Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag had their first taste of competitive Volvo Ocean 65 action in the opening stage of Leg Zero, the Cowes “Round the Island Race” where they finished last – and now prepare to tackle the Rolex Fastnet Race, starting on 6 August.

Witt added: “We’ve finished with our squad selection for now, but the only thing that’s up in the air with us is whether we need to take more crew on the boat or not. Right now, we’re playing catch up a little bit with all of the idiosyncrasies of the boat. We still think we’re on the right track going with minimal crew – but we’re still open, and that could change as the race draws nearer.”

Additional reporting: Volvo Ocean Race, Jonno Turner.
Images: Copyright their respective owners.