Volvo Ocean Race - Brunel fifth in Lisbon In-Port Race
by Team Brunel - Robbert-Jan Metselaar on 7 Jun 2015
VOR - Volvo Ocean Race 2015 Volvo Ocean Race
http://www.volvooceanrace.com
Volvo Ocean Race - Team Brunel finished the Lisbon In-Port Race in fifth position. Bouwe Bekking’s team is still in a second position in the overall In-port series, four points behind the leader Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing.
“We made one important mistake,” says Bouwe Bekking after the finish. “We should have covered Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing on the first upwind leg. We should just have tacked earlier. After that, we were sailing a race that was already lost. It was just one of those days.”
After a good start, Team Brunel chose the left side of the race track. The first gybe went flawless, which helped Team Brunel defending their third place. Team Brunel was sailing very close to the shore of Lisbon at that time. It was a neck and neck race with Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing en MAPFRE. The second gybe didn't go so well. Bouwe Bekking and his men lost a gybing battle with their closest rival Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing.
Just after rounding gate one, Team Brunel chose the right side of the track in search of more wind and less current. Unfortunately, there was hardly any wind there which made the team drop to a fifth position. On the second upwind leg, Team Brunel was the only boat to make a move to the right-hand side of the track. Even the spectator fleet had to move in order to make way for our black and yellow boat. For the second time, Team Brunel encountered a windless part of the track, which made the team drop to a seventh and last position. Fortunately, Dongfeng Race Team also sailed a disappointing In-Port race and Team Brunel was able to overtake them. Finally, Team Vestas Wind was penalised for hitting the finish buoy and Team Brunel was able to overtake them as well finishing in a fifth position behind Team Alvimedica.
Tomorrow the fleet of the Volvo Ocean Race will start leg 8 and sail towards Lorient. The leg to France is only 647 Nm long and will take about three days. The expected time of arrival is June 10th 2015.
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