Volvo Ocean Race - Dongfeng score another excellent result

by Dongfeng Race Team on 14 Dec 2014 'We had a fantastic leg and a fantastic fight with Team Brunel. Bit disappointed as we were leading a few hours before but they deserved this win.' Charles Caudrelier

A hectic, stressful and closer-than-close finish to leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race as the determined men of Dongfeng battled their way to the Abu Dhabi finish line in second place at 08:41:40 UTC time just 16 minutes and 20 seconds behind their Dutch rivals Team Brunel. The leg 2 result with Team Brunel in first, Dongfeng second and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing third puts all three teams tied on equal points on the overall leaderboard after two legs.

Skipper Charles Caudrelier helmed Dongfeng to the finish in Abu Dhabi this morning – a proud, if not slightly disappointed man after an epic fight with Team Brunel that had seen the Chinese team take the lead yesterday afternoon as the leaders rounded the top of the Omani peninsula. Then in the closing hours of this leg their Dutch rivals sailed right past: 'We had a very close fight with Team Brunel for eight days now! We managed to pass Team Brunel, we did a good job but a few hours ago we were ahead but they came back with a big gust and they were much faster than us, we couldn’t do anything. It’s very strange, we’ve been slower than them at times and they beat us purely through speed, it’s very frustrating. If you can’t go fast, you can’t win.' As the red boat crossed the line there were handshakes, high fives, smiles and a shrug of the shoulders from French navigator Pascal Bidegorry – summing up the feeling on board.

'We could have won so we’re a bit disappointed. At least we beat Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing who are the race favourites. For Dongfeng it’s not just about winning for us, we have a good team and we try to do the best and prove it on each leg. This leg was complicated but we have proven that we can match the best so we’re are happy with that.' In a lighter mood on the dockside, Charles remarked: 'If you told me second place at the start, I’d have signed.'

Exceeding expectations once again

Charles Caudrelier and his team continue to exceed expectations. He is leading a multinational crew made up of professional sailors and rookies. The pros come mainly from the short-handed sailing environment so are used to sailing with a small number of crew which the eight crew often feels like on these powerful Volvo Ocean 65s. Alongside them are the Chinese rookie sailors who continue to impress and pull their weight, albeit without all the skills or experience a Volvo Ocean Race sailor would normally have. But the combination is working and as a result Dongfeng Race Team continue to outperform some of the best sailors in the world. The Leg 2 result proves that the Leg 1 second-place was no fluke and, although it’s without question too early to speculate on a nine month long race, what we can say today is that the Chinese team are now considered fully competitive.

'In Leg 1 everyone said ‘oh, wow, Dongfeng finished second they must be pretty good’ and now they have been consistently first, second or third the whole race since the beginning and with more set backs than other teams,' said Knut Frostad, CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race. 'I think it’s super impressive and I think Charles should be sailor of the year when they hand out awards as a lot of people don’t realise what the team has done to raise those Chinese sailors to make them that good in such a short space of time.'

The competitive edge

After a relentless near 24-day battle the one-design class of Volvo Ocean 65’s has ensured the racing could not have been any closer between the top three boats. Dongfeng Race Team and Team Brunel especially have spent the majority of the second half of this leg in sight of one another: 'They’re always there,' said Bouwe Bekking on day 19 of racing. 'We wake up and say ‘morning team’ then we look to our right and say ‘good morning Dongfeng’. We call them our Kung-Fu Fighting Friends. Always there, always fighting.' Unquestionably there are moments of luck – or bad luck as was the case when the mast track came away from the mast on day seven and Dongfeng lost valuable time affecting the repair – but overall the performance has depended on the crew and Leg 2 has shown just how close the different teams are in terms of performance.

The trailblazers

Rookie Chinese sailors Liu Xue (Black), just 21 years old and the youngest sailor in the Volvo Ocean Race and Chen Jin Hao (Horace) aged 22, were selected to race on this leg and take up the mantle of leading the Chinese nation into offshore sailing through one of toughest ocean races in the world. Submerged into a new culture, new language and new adventure, it would seem as though these young sailors have been thrown in at the deep end contending with difficulties onboard such as the language (both sailors only started learning English at the beginning of the project) and lack of offshore experience but they have proven themselves capable of not only surviving onboard but also playing a crucial part in the team. 'Black has been very impressive on his first race leg,' said Charles Caudrelier. 'After his first offshore training he didn’t want to continue and I asked him how do you feel now, and he likes it! He’s very good, always trimming, very competitive and always gives 100%. Horace is the most experienced and improves more each leg. They are disappointed because they wanted to win today but that’s the game.'

For Black his first Volvo Ocean Race experience has been more than memorable: 'In the beginning I was worried because I have not done the race before,' said Black. 'I was worried about how hard the race will be but I’m enjoying it. Yesterday I tell Yann this is the sailor’s life, I enjoy!' The hardest part for Black came mid-race: 'Team Brunel was in front and everyone try hard to go faster but we lose a lot and, for me, that was very hard as I always want to win. But after we just keep going and we find a way. There are so many good things, hard to pick one! But yesterday to lead in front of Brunel – oh my god, we’re in first place! Then we miss first place by just one mile. But very happy to have come back to the project and to be in the Volvo Ocean Race and I hope to keep going and get better results.'

Charles Caudrelier and his crew were bombarded with the same questions prior to departure; would Black be a compromise to performance, how did they feel about having a rookie onboard, why change when Yang Jiru (Wolf) was gaining in experience? Well, for sure the best solution for pure performance might have been to keep the same two Chinese sailors, who already have more Volvo Ocean 65 Race experience than the rest of China put together, but this project is more than just racing to win – it’s about sharing, educating, motivating and developing the future talent in Chinese sailing. It’s about putting ocean racing on the map in China and for that to happen the mission is to still get more than just two Chinese sailors around the world. Scoring a good result? Well… we’ll just call that a bonus.

Day-by-day summary of leg 2:

Day one: 20.11.14

A full on nerve-racking and potentially boat wrecking start to leg 2

Testing start to Leg 2 – 30-35 knots of breeze off the start line, sailing into calms and gusty squalls as the fleet headed out of Table Bay. A night of upwind sailing around the southern tip of South Africa – a night for seamanship not brinkmanship.

Position in fleet - Third.

Day 2 - 21.11.14

We’re slow and we don’t know why

'We are not King of the road right now,' from Charles Caudrelier, frustrated with their lack of boat speed. Trucking along at 23 knots (average) which is 43km per hour, not exactly slow! Navigators looking ahead to when to gybe to the north.

Position in fleet - Third – top five boats close together led by Alvimedica and Mapfre.

Day 3 - 22.11.14

Pressure on the navigators

'At some point, we’ll have to leave the wind pressure we’re in and go for it! But – when?' Yann Riou. Take the lead thanks to holding the most northerly track (950 miles south of Madagascar) but not made the hard turn left yet. Crew still wearing full wet weather gear and safety harnesses.

Position in fleet – First.

Day 4 - 23.11.14

'You need to be fast, make good decisions and have just a little bit of success' Caudrelier

All about positioning – more north = less speed, more east = more wind but having to sail more miles. 4,200nm to go! It’s going to be a complicated leg.

Position in fleet: Neck on neck with Mapfre and Brunel

Day 5 - 24.11.14

Ridge on the menu

‘We have a ridge to cross on today’s menu. And when there a ridge to cross, there are tacks to make….’

Next to next to nothing in it for the top 5 boats spread across an east to west divide in search of stable breeze and the best way to cross the ride.

Position in fleet - Next to nothing in it!

Day 6 - 25.11.14

Constant sail changes equals no sleep

'This morning the difference between being on watch and off watch is pretty small. It is a bit like doing a sail change every time we see a new cloud – and we’ve seen a lot of them!'

Timing of tacks critical – Abu Dhabi tacked to the north early morning, then back again on to same track as others but now in the lead.

Position in fleet – Third.

Day 7 - 26.11.14

Mast Track issue problem adds to pressure on Dongfeng

Technical problem on board as one-meter section of mast track pulls away from the mast. Impossible to make full repair in bumpy, upwind conditions. 300 miles south east of southern trip of Madagascar. Meteo France issue Tropical Storm warning.

Position in fleet - Fourth with three other boats in sight

Day 8 - 27.11.14

Intense battle on the water in unstable conditions and Mast repair

Six out of Seven boats find themselves within site of each other after 2,800nm of racing.

'On we go fighting the teams around us and fighting the very unstable weather – ignoring our big problem up the mast, as it’s too difficult to do the repair right now. But we HAVE to do it before the tropical storm arrives!' Yann Riou

Six hours later Kevin Escoffier (aka Mr Fixit) manages to affect a repair to mast track damage.

Position in fleet - Fifth

Day 9 - 28.11.14

Will the repair hold as Dongfeng nears tropical storm

100nm south of Mauritius and the other side of paradise the storm. Added stress for Dongfeng as to whether the mast track repair will hold. 'This problem is going to hang over our heads all the way to Abu Dhabi,' Charles Caudrelier.

Position in fleet - Fourth

Day 10 - 29.11.14

Not as intense a storm as forecasted, but very intense competition!

Dongfeng opted to hold their northerly gybe longer than the leading trio and as a result ended up crossing the track of Brunel in what must rank as one of the closest crosses after nearly 11 days of racing! Fleet sails into light wind to north of the depression, zig-zagging upwind keeping clear of the African Piracy exclusion zone.

Position in fleet – Fourth.

Day 11 - 30.11.14

Team Vestas ground on Reef

'It’s sad news, very sad for them but also sad for the race.' – Charles
Fleet shocked to hear news of Team Vestas grounding that took place at 1510 UTC on 29.11.14.

Position in fleet - Fourth.

Day 12 - 1.12.14

'This Is The Kind Of Day That Really Counts' Charles confirms
Effects of the Doldrums… Just four knots of wind and ahead 10 days more with no more than 10 knots of wind. All eyes on Mapfre who have split from fleet and taken a big easterly gybe.

Position in fleet - Third

Day 13 - 2.12.14

Hot, Hot, Hot as every metre won on the water, means frying in the sun for crew of Dongfeng

No wind and heat like this, most club sailors would have abandoned the race some time ago for the bar and a cool beer – no options for our boys on that front! Not for at least another 10 days.

Position in fleet – Second

Day 14 - 3.12.14

Stuck in the mud

Stuck in the mud for the last two days, we have to almost result to violence to make use of every little puff of wind we find to drag ourselves slowly north. As Horace teaches Thomas Chinese and Eric teaches Black how to read navigation software it becomes clear the teaching onboard Dongfeng is only just beginning.

Position in fleet – Third.

Day 15 - 4.12.14

Dongfeng in the doldrums, episode 2

'So that’s it, we’re in it [for the second time in the race]. And funnily enough, we are actually pretty happy!' Yann Riou on entering the Doldrums. Fastest boat in morning sched at 14 knots. Less than 2,100nm to go.

Position in fleet – Third.

Day 16 - 5.12.14

Crossing the equator

'For me it’s very important to cross the Equator, in a race, at sea, during the Volvo. It’s something that I will never forget for my whole life.' Black recounting his first Equator crossing the day before.

Position in fleet – Third.

Day 17 - 6.12.14

The worst night of this leg so far

In battle for second place with Team Brunel in difficult conditions – starting to touch the north-easterly winds north of the Equator but still plenty of Doldrum-like gremlin clouds and windless zones.
Position in fleet - Third

Day 18 - 7.12.14

Unease and tension onboard as Brunel outperforms Dongfeng overnight!

A hard fought battle for the lead dissolved into nothing and then a deficit as Brunel sailed straight past Dongfeng. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing who had led ever since Mapfre made the ill-timed dive to the east a week or so ago, now seem to have got into same wind as leading duo, just same miles behind.

Position in fleet - Second, 2.1nm behind Team Brunel

Day 19 - 8.12.14

Annoyed, frustrated and had enough of this!

'We are trying every trimming setup possible, every single configuration, but it’s not going well and we are very wound up!' Thomas Rouxel. Approaching the 1,000nm to go but it isn’t getting easier.

Position in fleet - Second

Day 20 - 9.12.14

So near and yet so far

Little appetite, lack of sleep, aching bodies and even the smallest of tasks become that little bit harder. Straight-line upwind drag race and we’re not winning!

Position in fleet – Second.

Day 21 - 10.12.14

The next 48 hours are crucial for this leg

Making a 4nm gain in the night to 8.5nm behind Team Brunel. 'It’s going to be very tricky and the boat that sails best in this area if likely to win the leg.' Charles Caudrelier. Approaching land and next tricky phase. 'The coastlines of Oman and Iran are famous for their mountains but wind doesn’t like mountains much…'
Position in the fleet – Second.

Day 22 - 11.12.14

Chasing the Wind and the Dutch

335 miles to go. Light, windless conditions, tortuous conditions for the crew: 'it’s not finished yet! We have to push hard to do the best we can,' Kevin Escoffier.

Position in the fleet - Second

Day 23 - 12.12.14

Final fight to the finish

Dongfeng and Team Brunel in sight of each other as they round the tip of the Omani peninsula. At the 16000 UTC position report, Dongfeng edged into the lead with 170nm to go.

Day 24 - 13.12.14

Dongfeng cross the finish line in second place at 0841 UTC after 23 days, 16 hours, 41 minutes, 40 seconds of intense racing.