Two Dongfeng Race Team crews sail at Spi Ouest France
by Dongfeng Race Team on 13 Apr 2017
Dongfeng Race Teams - Spi Ouest Regatta France Yann Riou / Dongfeng Race Team
The men and women of the Dongfeng Race Team are competing in the Spi Ouest France regatta this weekend at La Trinité-sur-Mer, south-west Brittany, aboard two Open 7.50 monohulls.
One boat will be helmed by the team’s skipper, Charles Caudrelier, and the other is skippered by Marie Riou, four-time World Nacra 17 Champion and also a member of the crew due to take the start of the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 this October.
For the past two weeks, Dongfeng Race Team sailors from China, Holland, New Zealand, the UK and France have moved from their permanent base at Lorient base to a house in nearby La Trinité.
With a daily routine of sailing, gym training and debriefings, as well as some time spent together and with family, the Spi Ouest regatta is proving a perfect “team-building exercise” for sailors, who will soon be working together during eight months of round-the-world racing.
“Between now and the start of the Volvo Ocean Race (Alicante, Spain), we have few opportunities to pit ourselves against our rivals. We’ll have the Fastnet Race and then the Plymouth to Lisbon Race in August, but in the meantime, we’re sailing on our own,” said Caudrelier.
“Racing an Open 7.50 at Spi Ouest France is an effective way to familiarise ourselves with race situations. It doesn’t require much to set up the boats and this sort of racing enables us to work on the detail, without being distracted by the technical complexities you have on a big boat,” he added.
Caudrelier says conditions at La Trinité are ideal for race practice and it is a great venue to work from. “There’s a great circuit and the Open 7.50s are superb boats. There’s a recreational aspect to racing among ourselves and soon with the rest of the fleet too. Here, we’re living in the same house, some with family, and we’re making the most of this change of pace to step up our physical preparation. It’s good to break the routine and it’s an excellent team-building exercise in our preparation for the Volvo Ocean Race,” he said.
Two boats, one team
The team is taking Spi Ouest France seriously and no race is too small for them to want to do well. Although Dongfeng Race Team sailors are having some fun in Brittany, performance on the water is still the priority.
“Each of us is trying our best with our crew and we’re battling to steal a march on the other boat,” admits Marie Riou, who is skipper and tactician of Dongfeng Race Team 2 and who is returning to her first love. “I’m going back to what I’m used to doing on little boats.”
She then commented on her crew: “Carolijn (Brouwer) has an Olympic background like me and we also have Morgane Gautier aboard, who I match-raced with for a long time, so we’re all on the same wavelength. Her brother and owner of the boat, Antoine, is at the helm, with Fabien Delahaye on the mainsail and Wolf (Yang Jiru) trimming. Together we form what we call the ‘girls’ boat’ and the other with Charles, Pascal, Daryl, Jak and Horace is the boys’ boat, which keeps us amused. Beyond that, we’ve really gelled together in our work and, with light airs forecast this weekend, the girls could do well. We’ll certainly do our best to make that happen in any case!”
From China to La Trinité
Chinese Dongfeng Race Team regulars Wolf and Horace are a long way from home. But they are enjoying sailing in La Trinité and are giving their all. “Racing in competitions is key if we’re all to progress together,” Wolf admits. “I love discovering new boats and learning in competition with the top players. I’ve seen and understood that Nicolas (Groleau) is the one to beat, so we’ve got our sights set on him this weekend!”
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