Volvo Ocean Race - Team Brunel talks duels and dinghy racing

by Stefan Coppers, Team Brunel on 28 Oct 2014 Volvo Ocean Race 2014 -15. Team Brunel’s OBR Stefan Coppers reports on the race progress.

'The start was really great,' says Gerd-Jan Poortman. 'It was an extraordinary experience, particularly because of the many thousands of fans there in Alicante. The first stretch of sailing across the Mediterranean Sea was an insane, intense experience. The introduction of a one-design class turned out to be a great move. It was like a dinghy race. Up to Gibraltar, a lot of duels were fought out and the many changes of wind resulted in an unprecedented amount of manoeuvring.'

'Even after we had passed Gibraltar, almost all of the teams were sailing within sight of each other. It’s an extremely intensive way of sailing in which you have to continue to push yourself all the time! It gives you a healthy dose of stress.'

'In the first week, we were sailing very conservatively and strategically. We also did not want to make mistakes that would lose us valuable time. Although we weren’t always in the lead, we always had control over the boat. The only aim was to remain with the fleet and to wait for our chance to strike.'

'We got that chance near the Cape Verde islands. This was when the time came for our navigator Andrew 'Capey' Cape to raise the stakes. We decided to sail further to the west. ‘The more westerly the better’ is a saying that you hear often in ocean racing circles. It turned out to be the right choice. Together with Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, we built up a sizeable lead over the other teams.'

'We’re now lying in second place so Capey’s decision to sail to the west turned out well. It’s now a two-horse race. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and we can now go for the win. I say ‘can’ because you never know. Because the others are so far behind us, they’re also sailing in different conditions, so they can also close the gap.'

'We’re now sailing south and hopefully we’ll be shooting off towards Cape Town. Because the further to the south you sail, the more wind you catch and more wind generally means more speed. But searching for these winds also means sailing further and takes more time, so we have to find the perfect balance. Anyway, we’re going for a win.' Team Brunel website