Volvo Ocean Race - Team Brunel leading the pack

by Stefan Coppers, Team Brunel on 29 Oct 2014 Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15. Team Brunel OBR Stefan Coppers reports on day 17 for the crew - who are currently in first position, some 2611.9nm from Cape Town.

'The fans who follow us at home now think, why the hell have the guys chose this strange route yesterday,' says Bouwe Bekking with a sour face. Sitting on the little bench he stares into the navigation screen of Andrew Cape. It is a dark hole, and the only source of light is the small computer screen. 'We clearly sail the wrong way,' he continues.

As always, there was once again a thought behind this tactical move of Bekking and Co. Team Brunel was sailing 400 miles off the Brazilian coast to the south. Directly ahead for the Dutch team was a huge high pressure area. Bekking: 'There is virtually no wind here. Think of it as a concrete wall. It’s impossible to break.' About 50 miles towards the coast the other boats were pushing forward, with much more wind in the offing, so Bekking and Cape decided to jibe and sail closer the coast.

'I have a good and bad feeling about it,' said navigator Cape. 'Too bad because we are clearly sailing in the opposite way of where Cape Town is located. Good because finally we will arrive in Cape Town faster with this move.' And it worked out well because we are now leading the Team Brunel