Volvo Ocean Race Leg 4 - Dongfeng arrive in Auckland

by Dongfeng Race Team on 1 Mar 2015 Volvo Ocean Race Leg 4 - After the triple successes of winning leg 3 to Sanya, taking the In Port trophy there, and then leading the fleet out of Sanya on leg 4 and staying in front all the way to the Philippines, a bit of a fall from the stars was inevitable perhaps.

'Erwan had a very hard job and it was not easy to come on board for one leg but he’s very strong in his mind and maybe if I had listened to him more we would have done better. For example, he wanted to go north but I wanted to stay with the fleet which was a mistake. He is a fantastic navigator and it was not an easy job. Pascal is coming back for the next leg – he will be fresh and full of energy and we will be strong in next leg,' concluded Charles.

During this leg for the first time since the Volvo Ocean Race began four months ago, Dongfeng Race Team found themselves well and truly at the back of the fleet very much in last place on Day 10. In a video sent back from the boat we saw the usually calm Charles Caudrelier, smash the helm in uncontrollable anger as the mast track pulled away from the mast – a technical problem beyond his control. Charles explained: 'I am frustrated. The consequences have been disastrous for us. These mistakes have cost us a lot of miles and since the breakages it’s been hard to get back into our rhythm. We are handicapped but we have no choice but to live with it until Auckland.'

Being at the back of the fleet, the team experienced a lull in morale that was new to them and their famous Dongfeng spirit. It meant some soul-searching and then digging deep and fighting back in a way that they had never had to before. They did it in true Dongfeng style, going from last to first in just 48 hours, taking back over 100 miles in the process.

'To be in the lead after all the hard knocks we’ve taken on this leg is without doubt one of my, and the team’s, proudest moments since the start of this race.' Charles emailed after the position report came through on Day 17. 'We’ve had really hard moments, phases of total exhaustion, and moments of real frustration and anger but onboard there is always someone ready to re-motivate the others, someone with a positive outlook. I am so lucky to be surrounded by a magic team. At the start of this race I was really feeling the pressure. The crew selection is the key to success on this race. You don’t need the best sailors, you need the best team – it’s not the same thing.'

We might not have come first in the end but that’s okay because we had unfinished business on this leg. Naturally anything other than first place is frustrating for such highly competitive personalities but the truth is this leg has been the toughest one yet and we’re proud to be crossing that finish line that seemed so far away this time last year.

This result leaves Dongfeng on equal points at the top of the overall leaderboard with Ian Walker’s Emirati boat holding the advantage on countback as they hold a higher ranking on the in-port leaderboard – definitely not expected by anyone one year ago on the way to Auckland with a rookie crew.

TOP THREE RESULTS:

1, MAPFRE/Xabi Fernández/08:31:20 UTC
2. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing/Ian Walker/08:35:45 UTC
3. Dongfeng Race Team/Charles Caudrelier/08.39.22 UTC

DAY-BY-DAY SUMMARY OF LEG 4:

Day 1: 09.02.15 5,190nm to go
SETTLING IN TO A LONG AND VERY DIFFERENT LEG 4
Unexpected leaders, pressure is on as Dongfeng hold a slim five nautical mile lead at the front of the fleet. ‘I honestly believe a big part of this leg will depend on luck’ – Charles Caudrelier

Day 2: 10.02.15 4,863nm to go
SOUTH CHINA SEA DELIVERS BOAT AND PEOPLE BREAKING CONDITIONS
Only 13nm separate the fleet, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing just 0.6nm behind Dongfeng. Upwind sailing in an area of the world where the undercurrents beneath you cause havoc with the wave patterns, leaving even the world’s best helmsmen little chance to avoid the seemingly bottomless ocean holes in front of the bows of Dongfeng.

Day 3: 11.02.15 4,722nm to go
DONGFENG IN TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN AS FLEET DIVIDE
Team Brunel and SCA have struck north, seeking better winds in to the run south to the Equator. Dongfeng stick with ADOR, MAPFRE and Alvimedica. Two different options that will take a week or so to play out to see who was right.

Day 4: 12.02.15 4,636nm to go
'IT WAS A MISTAKE' ADMITS CAUDRELIER
'We wanted to go north but no one else was, so we stayed with the group.' – Caudrelier. Dongfeng’s navigator Erwan Israel adds; 'the teams that went North will smash us, we should have done that.'

Day 5: 13.02.15 4,618nm to go
THE NEED FOR SPEED
So the dice have been rolled, and the northerners and southerners are fixed in their lanes. Various experts routing predictions put the Dutch Brunel and the Girls on SCA finishing in Auckland almost a day ahead.

Day 6: 14.02.15 4,016nm to go
THE SPEED RACE
'We’ve got a 7-day speed run ahead of us. We’re in a peloton of 4 boats, we can all see each other except for Abu Dhabi, that we catch a glimpse of every now and then on the AIS tracking. The wind is very variable as well as the sea state – with a lot of water coming across the deck.' Charles Caudrelier, second 9nm behind ADOR.

Day 7: 15.02.15 3,616nm to go
BRUNEL STORM TO FRONT AS DONGFENG NURSE OVERNIGHT DAMAGE LOSS
The rankings are being turned on their heads, as Brunel storms down over the top of the southerly group, including Dongfeng. Dongfeng dropped to fifth place then clawed their way back to third before the halyard lock holding the big J1 jib to the halyard (rope) broke, losing valuable speed and miles.

Day 8: 16.02.15 3,307nm to go
CAN CHINESE NEW YEAR BRING DONGFENG SOME BETTER LUCK IN A RED ENVELOPE?
Still without the full use of their halyard lock system for the J1 (biggest upwind/reaching sail at the front) – they’ve steadily lost miles on Mapfre and Alvimedica who are now in sight right alongside as Team Brunel extend their lead to 100+ miles.

Day 9: 17.02.15 3,008nm to go
CHINESE SAILORS SET TO SPEND CHINESE NEW YEAR AT SEA
Chen Jin Hao and Yang Jiru will be spending the most important time of the year racing across the Pacific Ocean thousands of miles from land and with a different sort of family. Dongfeng in fifth place, will the Doldrums at the Equater offer the Chinese team a way back into the race.

Day 10: 18.02.15 2,752nm to go
DONGFENG DOWN BUT NOT
A series of breakages, including the mast track coming away from the mast and a few regrets on the tactical front, and Dongfeng find themselves for the first time in this Volvo Ocean Race well and truly at the back of the fleet.

Day 11: 19.02.15 2,586nm to go
DONGFENG CLOSE GAP ON SCA AND MAPFRE, DESPITE HANDICAPS
Still no repair possible to either the mast track or the J1 halyard lock. But better numbers on the water, closing the two boats in front to within 10 miles.

Day 12: 20.02.15 2,306nm and crossing the equator
MR FIXIT ON DONGFENG ONCE AGAIN SCALES MAST TO ATTEMPT MAST TRACK REPAIR
'Today Kevin Escoffier hauled a double barrel epoxy gun, a tool bag and a GoPro 30 meters up the mast to get tossed around like a tissue in the wind while attempting to repair our mast track' – Sam Greenfield.

Day 13: 21.02.15 1,943nm to go
'REALLY TOUGH, IT WAS A TEST FOR US' TO 'WE’VE GOT OUR SMILE BACK'
Now back in second place in terms of distance to go to Auckland, probably tactically speaking third place with Abu Dhabi still further south. 'We’ve got our smile back'

Day 14: 22.02.15 1,584nm to go
FULL RESET AS VOLVO OCEAN RACE FLEET CHARGE SOUTH
'Anyone can win this leg, its now so close again' Charles Caudrelier sums it up. Fast and wet downwind conditions through the Doldrums, hitting 20-24 knots of speed.

Day 15: 23.02.15 1,300nm to go
THE FINAL HURDLE? ITS A GIANT ONE…
>From fast and wet racing to windless conditions: 'We are parked and waiting for what the guys keep calling ‘the gate to the south'- Sam Greenfield. 100 mile transition area of 0-6 knots of wind to reach the fresh easterly breeze.

Day 16: 24.02.15 1,100nm to go, ready for the sprint to New Zealand
NIGHT OF HELL
'We’ve just gone through the worst night yet of this Volvo. On the menu we had no wind, big swell, stopping wave right on the nose and an adverse current!' – Charles Caudrelier. Good news, now in a stable 12-14 knots of breeze from the east and edged back in to first place ahead of ADOR but only by 0.2nm

Day 17: 25.02.15 800nm to go
'YOU DON’T NEED THE BEST SAILORS, YOU NEED THE BEST TEAM' – CAUDRELIER
The race is still very long, this leg also, everything can still happen, but those that know me well know that I am never satisfied. However, exceptionally, I can say that I am very happy with the choices I’ve made, and if I had to choose again, I would change nothing.

Day 18: 26.02.15 490nm to go
A PICTURE TELLS A THOUSAND WORDS
The determined men of Dongfeng have just had mother nature dump one bad bit of luck on them, as they’ve sat dejected under a windless cloud, watching with their own eyes Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing sail by – and on the radar screen, MAPFRE do the same thing.

Day 19: 27.02.15 180nm to go
HIGH TENSION AS DONGFENG APPROACHES NEW ZEALAND COAST
The leading trio continue to fight for every mile, just 5nm separation, as they approach New Zealand’s shores. Since Dongfeng were dumped on by a ‘bad’ cloud yesterday evening, they’ve struggled to come back on the Emirates team, and at the same time MAPFRE has been profiting from slightly better wind offshore to the east.

Dongfeng Race Team crossed the finish line in Auckland in third place. Elapsed time: 20d 02h 39min 22s