Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 - Practice makes perfect

by Jonno Turner on 13 Sep 2014 Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 - An empty Race Village. The odd laugh and joke between rival sailors. A few necessary pre-race emergency procedures to be tested and tightened-up.

There were a few signs that this wasn’t the real start of the Volvo Ocean Race.

At just 400 nautical miles, this weekend jaunt to Majorca and back might pale into insignificance at the side of some of the marathon slogs of the real race.

But ask the sailors, and they’ll tell you that it’s anything but insignificant.

Of course, those preparations differ wildly. To some, like Team SCA, the first boat to enter this 12th edition of the race over two years ago, this weekend marks the culmination of those sustained efforts.

A final chance to iron out the mistakes – and the nerves – before they begin to count double, on an unforgiving racetrack.

'I think we all are feeling a bit nervous,' smiled Team SCA’s Sam Davies. 'When we do this next time, the next stop is Cape Town!'

'It’s really nice to have a trial run, because it gets rid of some of the more annoying nerves, and then when we go for the real leg hopefully it will just be the good nerves!'

At the other end of the preparation spectrum sits Team Vestas Wind. To them, announced as the seventh and final team just one month ago, this is about playing catch up.

'It’s not a race that we have to win – but it’s a race that we have to learn,' said Nicolai Sehested. 'We have to make sure that we get the maximum out of it.'

His skipper, Chris Nicholson, agrees. 'It’s nice to finally square up against the other guys,' he smiled, on the dock. 'They’re all well-prepared, but at the end of the day I don’t think that matters.'

'We’ve got a good team, and we’ll give it our best shot.'

Printed on the back of their electric blue boat, in eye-catching arctic white, are the words ‘Wind. It means the world to us’.

Today was a day when the Danish boat – and their six rivals – would have been craving that essential element more than most.


(Video by Austin Wong)

As 34 degrees of blazing sun shone, uninterrupted, down onto a sparsely populated Race Village, the wind gusted softly at just 14 knots, from a southwesterly direction. Where the fans were missing, so was the wind.

'That’s the biggest problem,' sighed Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s Simon Fisher, looking at the forecast on the pontoon. 'It’s potentially going to be a pretty slow race.'

'It’s going to be difficult because we’ll have sea breeze today, and then, in a lot of light wind, we have to get past Ibiza. The race is all about who gets the wind first, and who gets stuck in a hole. You need a bit of luck, so we’ll wait and see!'

On Team España, French navigator and Volvo virgin Nico Lunven agrees.

'Training with the other boats is perfect, even if the weather is a little complicated to understand!'

'It’s only three months since the beginning of this project,' he adds. 'Now we have our routine on board, I feel much more complete, even if we still have a lot of things to improve.'

As the teams docked out one by one and completed their man overboard and emergency rudder procedures, anticipation began to slowly flood the veins.

This is real. Finally. All seven of these incredible boats, and too many world-class sailors to mention, in the same waters.

Alicante, the star of the show - its famous castle sitting proud, with a front row seat.

The one-minute warning signal echoed around the bay, and the teams stepped up a gear.

For Team Alvimedica’s Charlie Enright, that pressure to produce is key. 'It’s imperative to perform well,' he says. 'That’s what competitive people like to do.'

'We’re trying to learn as much as we can from these guys and refine our manoeuvres. A fun two days ahead!'

The boats powered through the start line – a brave move by Team Vestas Wind seeing them clinch first place during the opening exchanges as a rainbow of sails and hulls stretched across the Costa Blanca coastline.

Then, a massive setback for Team Brunel. Their front sail, designed to help the boat accelerate quickly, became unfurled, and they fell a long way behind the rest of the fleet.

'That was the worst possible start we could’ve had,' said skipper Bouwe Bekking, his boat at the back of the group. 'It shouldn’t happen, but it did happen.'

His team mate, Gerd-Jan Poortman, agrees – but remains positive. There is a long way to go and many twists and turns to come in this battle yet.

'We were late to start but we’re already catching up, so it’s good,' he smiles. 'It’s a race where the wind will drop and come back. You never know.'

Hurtling towards the first marker, it was Team SCA, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and Dongfeng Race Team which led the fleet – and the experience of Pascal Bidégorry and skipper Charles Caudrelier saw the Franco-Chinese crew grab the
lead during the turn.

It was a tight and high-pressure manoeuvre which tested the wits of the French pair to the limit, but as the red boat rounded the second and third marker, they were firmly in front position – the first of the fleet to disappear into the sparkling horizon.

'This is a phase when you usually don’t feel ready at all, and when all of the sudden, things come into place,' said Charles.

'At this point, you know if you have succeeded in your preparation or not. We’ve sailed, we’ve trained, we are comfortable.'

'We are where we want to be.'

The question is, how long will they remain Event website