Volvo Ocean Race – A successful debut!

by Team Brunel - Robbert-Jan Metselaar on 3 Jun 2015 Volvo Ocean Race – Gerd-Jan Poortman’s injury made Timo Hagoort’s dream come true. After more than six months on the bench, he made his debut in the Volvo Ocean Race on 17 May. Our boy wonder regards the victory in the trans-Atlantic crossing as one of the biggest successes in his sailing career.

Timo Hagoort is sitting down to his breakfast with red-rimmed eyes. The tough Dutch sailor is tired but, most of all, very happy with winning the seventh leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. “I’m so very pleased with this victory,” he says. “I couldn’t have made a better debut. Of course, it helped that I already knew the men and the boat very well. After all, I sailed with them on the VO65 for many miles in the build-up to the race. Still, some things had changed on board, like certain trim settings. You could see that the young lads like Louis and Rokas have grown immensely in the last months. I’m a bit jealous of them to be honest. I’ve also developed over the past months but not in such a steady line as them.”

“I haven’t really contributed any new ideas because I simply don’t have enough experience with this boat. I mostly helped with implementing the plans. Of course, I learned a lot as the leg progressed and I also took the initiative more and more. I mainly trimmed and worked with Rokas in the bow.”

Hagoort is sold on ocean racing and is putting his Olympic dreams on the back-burner. “At the moment, I’m focussing on ocean racing. I think it’s great to work as part of a team in difficult conditions. I’ve sailed in just about all of the major ocean races this year, such as the Rolex Middle Sea Race and the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. And my diary’s also pretty full for the months to come. For instance, next week I’m leaving for England to train with the J-class Lionheart. I’ll be sailing the yacht in the J-class regatta in Falmouth at the end of June.”

At the moment, Hagoort is still happy with the win and prefers not to dwell on the disappointment of only being able to take part in one leg. “Of course, I would like to sail the last two legs too but now that Gerd-Jan Poortman is fully fit, that’s out of the question, unfortunately. So my next goal is to sail in the next Volvo Ocean Race, which will start in 2017. I’m going to apply for a team as soon as I can. Of course, I’d prefer to sail for a strong Dutch team that can go for victory.”