Volvo Ocean Race- Young team sailed best leg to date

by Sean McNeill on 5 Mar 2015 March 01, 2015 - Reflecting on his team’s performance on Leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race, Team Alvimedica skipper Charlie Enright said the youngest crew in the race had sailed its best leg to date.

'It was our most complete leg so far. But like all these legs it had its ups and downs,' said the 30-year-old Enright. 'From a navigation and tactics point of view, we stayed with the group and were hard-charging throughout. We were always in touch and always threatening the leaders.

'But there’s a pecking order at the top based on experience and boatspeed. It’s not much of a speed difference, but it makes life a lot easier for those guys,' Enright said.

Team Alvimedica found itself fighting for a second consecutive podium finish after placing third on Leg 3 into China. While Enright labeled a fourth place for the leg 'bittersweet' after the hard fight into Auckland, the crew retains fourth place in the overall race standings.

After departing Sanya, China, on Feb. 8, Team Alvimedica hung with Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, Dongfeng Race Team and Mapfre on a hard reach, while Team Brunel and Team SCA split to the north in a bid based on weather models.

'We could see Brunel tack north on AIS (the tracking system) and assumed SCA went with them,' said navigator Will Oxley, the crew’s most experienced member with two previous Volvo Ocean Races to his credit. 'Our routing suggested that we do what they did, and we had a plan that would’ve seen us go north a bit further east than they did. But we stuck with Dongfeng and Abu Dhabi to continue the learning process. We wouldn’t learn anything going off by ourselves.'



Team Alvimedica was third across the equator, behind Team Brunel and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, and even held third in the rankings within six days of the finish. In the end, they couldn’t get far enough to the east as the weather models suggested.

'We spent a considerable amount of effort to get east,' said the 49-year-old Oxley. 'We were down to 6 nautical miles of lateral separation and with all four of them (Mapfre, Abu Dhabi, Dongfeng and Brunel) in a cloud. But when the top three got away it was because they were more to the east; then they escaped the cloud. If we’d been able to snap our fingers and reposition ourselves we would’ve wanted to be farther east.'

Oxley, who’s experience has been invaluable to the group of 30-somethings, agrees with Enright that it was the team’s most complete leg.

'I’m pretty pleased with the route we took and most of the decisions. It was a good solid leg,' said Oxley. 'We’re mixing it up much more and I feel more strongly about our chances at the podium. I feel we’re a contender to be on the podium and win some of the legs ahead.'

The frustrating part for Enright is that the team still hasn’t found that extra bit of boatspeed. But it shouldn’t deter from the bright performance put forth by Team Alvimedica. The crew had never raced together when they set off on Leg 1 last October, and four of them – Enright included – were sailing in the physically demanding and mentally fatiguing Volvo Ocean Race for the first time.

From Oxley’s point of view, the more experienced crews have the advantage when it’s time to shift gears.

'There were different conditions on this leg than we’ve experienced before,' said Oxley. 'There was more heavy-air reaching. Every time we shift to a different mode, it takes longer to get set up. The guys who’ve had the boats longer and have done more testing, they slot into the new mode quicker.'

'I expect us to continue to improve. That’s the deal,' said Enright. 'It’s no surprise Mapfre (leg winner) had a good leg. They’ve shown some good moments and they were due. They weren’t strong early on, but no one’s surprised at their result. Everyone’s starting to put it together and our time will come.

'Right now there’s a pack of two and a pack of three. The next leg could shake all of that up,' Enright said.

Text by Sean McNeill