Volvo Ocean Race In-Port Race – Team Brunel take second place
by Team Brunel on 3 Jan 2015
Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 – Abu Dhabi - In-Port Race. Team Brunel
In the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 in-port race that took place on Friday afternoon off the coast of Abu Dhabi Team Brunel has come second. As in the in-port race in Cape Town, skipper Bouwe Bekking handed over the helm to his French crewman Laurent Pagès. The Dutch skipper played the role of tactician on board Team Brunel.
'Given the overall rankings, the in-port race has become slightly more important, but we are still focussing primarily on the offshore legs,' said Bouwe Bekking before the start. 'Everyone can win an in-port race because all of the boats are exactly the same, after all. The important thing is to enjoy ourselves.'
Just before the start, the wind dropped and the in-port race had to be postponed three times. In the meantime, Bouwe Bekking was persuaded to leave the Dutch VO65 and board the commentator boat for an interview with one of the reporters. Finally the five teams started the in-port race at 15.40 local time, with a gentle seven-knot breeze from the south west. The teams had to complete two rounds of the marks.
Team Brunel started third with a small J1 jib but quickly swapped this for the much bigger Code Zero mast-head foresail.
After the start, Bouwe Bekking’s team opted to sail on the right side of the lane where there was clearly more wind. This turned out to be the right choice as Team Brunel was the second team to pass the top mark. Team Brunel also maintained its second place in the reach to the bottom mark. It was a lead that Bouwe Bekking and his men did not relinquish, finishing in a well-deserved second place.
'First of all I would like to congratulate Team SCA with their well-deserved victory!' said Bouwe Bekking just after the race. 'I'm happy with the way we are sailing now and how the team is performing. Abu Dhabi has proven to be a great stopover for us! First we won Leg two here and now we finished second in the In-port race.'
On Saturday, Team Brunel and the five other boats will start on the third leg of the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 to the Chinese port of Sanya.
Abu Dhabi In-Port Race result: 1 Team SCA (Sweden), 2 Team Brunel (Netherlands), 3 Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, 4 Dongfeng Race Team (China), 5 Team Alvimedica (Turkey-USA), 6 MAPFRE
Event website
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