Volvo Ocean Race – Team Brunel starts leg 7

by Team Brunel - Robbert-Jan Metselaar on 18 May 2015 Team Brunel has started the seventh leg of the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race. The 2,800-mile route will take the six teams from Newport to the Portuguese capital of Lisbon.

“In the history of the Transatlantic leg of the Volvo Ocean Race, several masts have been broken, one boat has sunk and one sailor has lost his life,” says Bouwe Bekking. “It’s the leg on which all the brakes come off. We now know the boat inside out. That’s why we’re going to push it to its limits on the route to Lisbon. Compared with the old Volvo Ocean Race boats, the VO65 is a lot stronger built and better maintained, so I expect the teams to sustain less damage than in previous editions. If something should break, it’s generally easier to fix, because we’ll then be back in Europe.”

“Together with the Southern Ocean leg, the trans-Atlantic crossing is traditionally regarded as the toughest leg of the Volvo Ocean Race,” says Jens Dolmer. Although the tall Dane is crossing the Atlantic from America for the seventh time, he thinks that you shouldn’t underestimate the leg. “I’ll constantly remind the boys that they should never lose their focus. It’s simply a dangerous leg. If the weather takes us north after the start, we will have to sail through the Grand Banks. The area south of Newfoundland is renowned for its low temperatures, storms, fog and big waves. In general, you sail through this area close hauled. Pretty uncomfortable sailing conditions.”

“How far north we go depends on the position of the Azores High,” continues Dolmer. “To the north of this area of high pressure, depressions - low-pressure areas - move eastwards. We use these depressions to cross the Atlantic. So the more to the north the Azores High lies, the more to the north we have to sail to pick up the depressions. So it can get cold. According to the latest weather forecasts, the Azores High is a long way to the south at the moment, so I think we can sail to Lisbon pretty much in a straight line. Because we can then hitch a lift on the Gulf Stream to some extent, the temperatures will be fairly pleasant. But I prefer the cold – then I’m in my element.”

The fleet will be expected in Lisbon around 25 May. This twelfth edition of the former Whitbread Round the World Race comprises nine legs and a so-called pit-stop in Scheveningen. The fleet of six VO65 boats will cross the finish line in Gothenburg at the end of June after covering approximately 38,739 nautical miles.