Volvo Ocean Race - It’s easy to smile when everything’s going your way
by Dongfeng Race Team on 18 Apr 2015
Dongfeng was lowered into the water yesterday Dongfeng Race Team
What have we learnt from the past two weeks?
We’ve learnt that it is easy to smile when you’re winning.
Fair enough we didn't win on the first few legs but we were in fact doing much better than anyone had imagined and that was enough at the start. We knew we could contend with the best and that was where we wanted to be. We know you’re only as good as your next result but from leg Three onwards it was a permanent high – a home victory into Sanya, eventually tied first place with Abu Dhabi at the start of Leg Five, what more could we have asked for?
We now realise, it’s very easy to smile when everything is going your way and a lot harder to when it’s not.
Today is the perfect day to say hurrah – Dongfeng is back in the water, almost everything is ready ahead of the start of leg Six to Newport, USA on Sunday (19th April), the sailors are refreshed, our team spirit is untouched and we’re ready to go… but actually that wouldn't be the whole truth.
The truth would be that, in the words of Charles Caudrelier: we have had a ‘huge blow’ and everyone has bent over backwards and worked long, hard hours to be where we are today (back in the water sailing). And this success hasn’t come without many sleepless nights, a few heated debates, lots of frustration and moments of helplessness.
Life on the flip side has been rough and two weeks ago it was questionable as to whether we would even be on the start line, as Bruno Dubois quite rightly stated, “It could be the end of our campaign as we know it.”
They say people come together when times are hard and this has been the case for us but not without a major test for both the team and the sponsor first. Thanks to a few key people leading the way, we have pulled through and we are ready but somewhere along the line someone has pushed a reset button. Charles might have stayed in excellent humour throughout this whole ordeal but his feet are firmly on the ground.
“We are reminded once again that anything can happen, we are reminded that our goal at the beginning of this race was to be on the podium. We realise that maybe we were having a good time until now and in light of what has happened we only have one option and that is to come back fighting.”
As it stands (despite being second) we are now sadly closer to fifth place than to first.
As it stands the race is Abu Dhabi’s to lose. Fact.
As it stands (mathematically speaking) anything is still possible.
We don’t know what will happen in the next leg any more than you do.
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