Volvo Ocean Race – Relaxed atmosphere on Team Brunel
by Stefan Coppers on 25 Nov 2014
Sailing in to the evening. Stefan Coppers/Team Brunel
Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15. Team Brunel’s OBR Stefan Coppers reports on leg 2 progress.
The Indian Ocean has calmed down. Endless high waves have given place to a smooth sea. There’s a relaxed atmosphere on the deck of Team Brunel. Four miles away, the men can see the foresails of MAPFRE and Dongfeng Race Team, who yesterday tried in vain to secure the lead position.
In the slipstream of the Dutch Volvo Ocean Race, two albatrosses dance on the wind. For a little while, the gigantic birds divert attention from the boats behind us. Bouwe Bekking sits with his legs dangling overboard through the rails. He takes a gulp of coffee from his thermos flask. His eyes follow the birds for minutes on end. 'It’s incredible how they can skim just above the waves,' he muses. With his hands, he mimics how the birds float endlessly around the boat, without so much as beating their wings.
'Jens is our albatross man,' says Rokas Milevicius. 'If he had a pet, it would be an albatross.' 'Did you know that albatrosses are dead sailors?' says the Danish sailor. 'What a life! Travelling, flying, seeing the world! Yes, I’d like to be an albatross...but not quite yet.'
Team Brunel website
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