Volvo Ocean Race - Team Brunel wins Itajaí In-port Race

by Team Brunel on 19 Apr 2015 2014 - 15 Volvo Ocean Race - Team Brunel won the in-port race in the Brazilian port city Itajaí. The Dutch sailing team is now in first position in the overall In-Port series ranking.

After a short delay due to a lack of wind the Itajaí in-port race started. Therefore, the competition organizers decided to shorten the in-port race. Just before rounding the last mark Team SCA was penalized for failing to give way to Team Brunel. The Swedish women's boat had to do a mandatory penalty round. Therefore Team Brunel managed to take the second place from Team SCA.

After rounding the last mark Bouwe Bekking chose for the left side of the race course. Team Brunel fell back to fourth place. Meanwhile, due to lack of wind the organization brought the finish line a few miles forward. The tactical decision to choose the left side of the track gave Team Brunel the victory.

'This is a great boost for the team,' says Bouwe Bekking. 'It's always good to start a leg with a victory. The boys have worked extremely hard. After the last gybe and when we crossed in front of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing I already felt that we could win. We have sailed a good race and this time the luck was on our side.'

'It was a tricky in-port race,' says Pablo Arrarte. 'There was almost no wind, so then it's hard to keep the boat running. The wind that was there was not stable and shifted in all directions. We have sailed quite conservative and we only concentrated on our own race. At the end, we have taken a risk to choose for the left side of the race track. We did not know whether this would be the right choice. Luckily this proved to be the right decision and we could win the race. This victory is good for the confidence.'

Tomorrow the Volvo Ocean Race fleet starts the sixth stage to the Newport Rhode Island.