Volvo Ocean Race - Leg 8 begins and for Dongfeng it’s time to move on

by Dongfeng Race Team on 8 Jun 2015 At 1400 UTC the Volvo Ocean Race fleet sailed out of Lisbon Harbor in what was a rather slow start to Leg 8 from Lisbon, Portugal to Lorient, France. A 647 nautical mile journey that will see the team’s battle it out, in what is (even after 8 months!) a totally unpredictable race.

Because, today we’d like to share something slightly different with you.

As many of you who follow the team will know, we’ve had a rough week. Leg 7 ended badly as a bad tack lost us a spot on the podium to Team Alvimedica. Then we finished sixth in yesterday’s in-port race, we would have actually finished last if it wasn’t for Team Vestas’ penalty turn around the final mark. Needless to say all this has left the team feeling tired and deflated. It’s true that in moments like these, digging deep to find that little extra can sometimes feel impossible.

However there is someone close to the heart of Dongfeng Race Team who sees things a little differently, someone who noticed the downhearted feeling we couldn’t seem to shake and wanted to say his piece, so we let him. A specialist in training British Judo Olympians, Neil Maclean-Martin is Physiotherapist and Human Performance Director for Dongfeng Race Team:

Sport reveals your character, like it or not

It is not every day we get to see the inner workings of people’s characters, even more so teams. However, after eight months of pushing their bodies and minds to the limit all the sailors are laid bare.

Stress works on the mind and body. Once the thin end of the stress ‘wedge’ starts to take hold it can quickly break a strong character apart, small flaws can become gaping holes. It is not only the sailors under pressure. The shore teams that look after the boat, logistics, media, etc, are all feeling the cumulative effects of eight plus months on the road away from home, family life and any sense of normality. The trick is to maintain work performance despite the pressures and distractions. Such intense working relationships are difficult to maintain and, of course, sometimes direct words are spoken but recognising this and having strategies such as a good game of ‘killer’ (you are given a challenge whereby you must persuade someone to do something silly without them knowing and then they become the killer for someone else) tend to work wonders. Working with teams of all different sports, functions and sizes I have seen how humour and good banter glue this team together and give them an identity which can act like armour.

The Volvo Ocean Race is not unfamiliar to sudden and unexpected changes on the podium in the last few legs.

So with accumulating stress, fatigue and the finish line in sight is the writing really on the wall? Or can we influence the result away from the boat.

I know that we can still outperform all the other teams because of, not in spite of, the failed tack at the finish line that cost us third place to Alvimedica. In failure there is success – and an insight to the collective character of the team. Faced with devastating disappointment, the option to dwell on the negative implications seemed inevitable and almost expected. The harder option of dealing with what happened, moving on and remaining positive about the race takes huge effort and mental resolve. It is, however, a must. If we think about failure, guess what, we fail. In focusing on positive outcomes and best-case scenarios we avoid creating glass ceilings to performance. Recognise mistakes, understand how to avoid them and take confidence that you are better because of the learning experience. In high performance sport it pays to remember that amateurs practice so they get it right, professionals practice so they can’t get it wrong.

There is strength in numbers and the sailors are part of the bigger team. We have seen the atmosphere in the team stronger than ever. The sailors have been able to stand on shoulders – everyone in the whole team still believes in our mission. Expectations evolve, finishing the race and sailing well was the start point for the team. We now find ourselves in a position where other teams are chasing us that for the majority of the race have been physically behind us. This has taken us from cannon fodder to worthy adversaries and now podium rivals. There is no doubt that there is plenty of talent on the boat, past winners, multiple Volvo race finishers, however with the Chinese debutants some felt their lack of experience would be too much to manage. For Dongfeng it has become clear that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. From shore team to crew there is a dynamic that has one goal – be the best version of the team we can be. There are lots of ways this dynamic can change, for Dongfeng the belief in the common goal, strong leadership and a genuine sense of humour creates this winning environment for success.

So what have we done differently following the finish line mistake and penalty point from the last leg – nothing. We have a trusted formula that is working. We did, however, do some shoring up to make sure even the thin end of that wedge couldn’t start breaking the team apart. In my role as physio and human performance director I was able to objectively demonstrate to the guys that they were physically still performing well and then emphasis the role of teamwork in our gym sessions while all the time hammering home the positive reinforcement. The sailor’s gym sessions give a chance for the guys to blow off some steam, mentally refresh and prove to themselves that they are in good physical condition despite the effects of the last eight months. We play sports – touch rugby, football, ultimate Frisbee. Do a lot of partner exercises that forces the guys to engage with each other rather than going through a sterile routine of exercises on machines in a gym. Rope sessions with tug-o-war drills, cave-man session on the beach where we throw big rocks around all create a very effective training environment that is fun, very effective and based on team building. The first game of football was brilliant – a quick five a side game on the beach. I asked for captains, Charles and Pascal naturally stepped forward so I appointed Horace and Black – feeling part of any team is essential and it was fun to see the seasoned sailors looking to the rookies for their approval in order to be picked first as though back at school.

So with end of the race almost palpable, fatigue and stress levels rising and press conferences becoming tenser, Dongfeng Race Team can afford to have confidence in themselves and the solidity of their characters.

This team stands shoulder to shoulder with heads held high as we race to Gothenburg.

Crew for Leg 8:

Charles Caudrelier (Skipper, FRA)
Pascal Bidégorry (Navigator, FRA)
Chen Jin Hao ‘Horace’ (CHN)
Yang Jiru ‘Wolf’ (CHN)
Kevin Escoffier (FRA)
Thomas Rouxel (FRA)
Eric Peron (FRA)
Martin Strömberg (SWE)
Yann Riou (Onboard Reporter, FRA)