Volvo Ocean Race - Pushing even harder
by Team Brunel - Robbert-Jan Metselaar on 30 May 2015
Team Brunel - Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 Team Brunel Photos
Volvo Ocean Race - Jens Dolmer’s daughter gives vent to a loud yell as skipper Bouwe Bekking tosses her into the swimming pool of the Solplay Hotel in Lisbon. A few seconds later, she climbs out of the pool again shrieking with laughter.
The men of Team Brunel are enjoying the Portuguese sun with their families. The working week will start again next Tuesday. Then, the sailors will begin preparing for the leg to the French port of Lorient. But before then there is still time for swimming, sleeping and reflecting on the last leg.
“This leg was great,” says a cheerful Rokas Milevicius. The muscled Lithuanian is relaxing on a sun lounger near the pool with his mates Stefan Coppers, Louis Balcaen, Adam Minoprio and Timo Hagoort. “We were fast from the start, made the right decisions and there was an excellent balance in the team. The two new lads have brought a lot of fresh energy and insights to the team.
'This leg centred entirely on two low-pressure areas and the Azores High. After the start in Newport, there was hardly any wind and the fleet was pretty much parked on the sea. A day later, we made grateful use of the first low-pressure area and, not long after that, we entered the warm Gulf Stream.
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'By then, our navigator Andrew Cape was already finding out the best way to pass the Azores High. This well-known, semi-permanent area of high pressure was larger and lay slightly further north than expected. Capey opted for a route straight through the middle of the high-pressure area.
'This was risky because in the centre of the high-pressure area there is generally less wind than on the edges. Fortunately, it turned out to be the right choice. After the Azores High, we were the first boat to enter the second low-pressure area and that took us to Lisbon as straight as a die.”
Due to the retirement of Gerd-Jan Poortman, Rokas was the first bowman for one leg. “It was a bit of a shock when I heard that Gerd-Jan had to be replaced but finally it all ran very smoothly. I was now also responsible for the other lads in the bow. I enjoyed doing it but I’m also happy for Gerd-Jan that he can sail with us on the next leg.”
“We’re going all out for a win. This result has left the race completely open. We can still win the Volvo Ocean Race. The last two legs are very short, which is why we have to sail all out from beginning to end and stay focussed. I don’t think we’ll get much sleep. ”
“It was a great experience to sail a leg of the Volvo Ocean Race again,” adds Adam Minoprio. “We were neck and neck with MAPFRE for the entire crossing, which is why we didn’t get a minute’s sleep. We fought over every centimetre. The weather was surprisingly calm for a trans-Atlantic crossing. This was an exception to the rule because generally there are strong winds. The waves are high and it’s cold. This time the temperature was pleasant, speeds were a bit less and the conditions were also a bit safer.”
“I had expected that it would take a while before the lads completely accepted me in the team, but I got a very warm reception. I felt a hundred per cent part of the team from the start.”
“I think the VO65 is an excellent boat. Because all of the boats are the same and they sail so close together, the race is enormously intense from start to finish. You’re constantly checking the AIS system to see the distance between you and the following boats. At times when you lose ground, you try to trim the boat a bit better so that you extend your lead again.”
“It was a calm leg but mostly grey skies with little sun,” says Timo Hagoort. “We were constantly swapping places with MAPFRE. It was crazy to be fighting out a sort of match race duel in the middle of the ocean. I’ve never known that before. The sailing was particularly intense in the last few days and we got little sleep. The advantage of that is you immediately see whether you’ve trimmed the boat optimally, because if you make a mistake, you see your rival come closer. Fortunately, we sailed a faultless race and we were very much on the attack. We were hugely confident. I think that we’ll be pushing even harder on the last two legs. These are short legs and we won’t get much sleep. This team will certainly try to arrive in Lorient first. Whether they are going to win the Volvo Ocean Race depends entirely on Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and Dongfeng Race Team.”
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