Volvo Ocean Race - Battered, exhausted yet completely psyched

by Dongfeng Race Team on 17 Jun 2015 Today Charles Caudrelier and his crew set off for the final leg of the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 from Lorient to Gothenburg with a brief pit-stop in The Hague.

The Dongfeng boys are battered, they’re exhausted but they’re also completely psyched. Perhaps it’s because the pressure of first place has been taken away, perhaps it’s just one of those things that fixes itself but either way, since they arrived in Lorient, the mood of the team has notably picked up.

This morning was the usual chaos around the team base, last minute rushing around with quick chats here and there, people popping their heads around the tent to wish the sailors luck, it was like any other start.

Except this time, it’s not like any other start. This time, for the first time since the race began Charles Caudrelier and his team started the leg knowing that first place in the Volvo Ocean Race is officially unattainable. It belongs to their rivals Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing.

So with Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing holding an unassailable lead over the rest of the fleet it’s a now a four-way battle to be on the podium behind them to Gothenburg. Of course there is Brunel who also had a disappointing fifth in to Lorient to chase for second place – Dongfeng needs to beat them by three places even though they are two points ahead because they have a far superior score on the tie-breaker in-port Series. Then there is the ever-improving Mapfre, just two points behind overall, and two points ahead on the tiebreaker in-port series. Team Alvimedica are only four points adrift, and with both Team SCA and Vestas Wind clearly competitive for this final ‘short’ leg, there is plenty of room for a four-point gap between any of these teams.

Not only could the pit-stop in The Hague upset the odds, this leg is also short and will be intense. There will be a lot of coastal sailing, traffic lanes, strong currents and light and rough weather – and the sailors are tired after eight months of sailing too. But for the four teams battling for the podium it’s game on.

This could be a fascinating one to watch and watch it you can! With so much at stake in this 960 nautical mile stage of the final race, this morning Volvo Ocean Race revealed that the tracker will be live throughout the leg and will be updated every 15 seconds.