Volvo Ocean Race Team SCA looks towards their strengths

by Jedda Murphy & Rob Kothe on 3 Jun 2015 While Team SCA started training earlier than the other six Volvo Ocean Racing fleet, they have the least VOR experience, learning on the job.

This morning Sail-World interviewed British sailor Annie Lush, who was selected in 2013 to join Team SCA, based in Lanzarote, Canary Isles.

While they were the first team to receive their Volvo 65, Lush says that there is no way to train for the offshore legs of the Volvo Ocean race but to do a Volvo Ocean Race, for instance south ocean driving experience can only gained in the south ocean

However their long training in Lanzarote, with a lot of islands transitions has stood them in good stead in the light condition and this will be important in the two short legs ahead.

Lush comes from a dinghy and inshore racing background. In 2010 Lush teamed up with sisters Lucy and Kate MacGregor and Mary Rook to win gold at the ISAF women's match racing World Championship and then Lush and the MacGregor sisters sailed at London 2012 in the Elliott 6 metres match-racing event.

Lush feels that that Team SCA has an advantage in the short and frenetic inport and short races, which to her feel like home.

The only team to have won two inport races, with an 11 person crew the SCA women can keep all the pedestals powered up and they can grind hard in short bursts, not something they are able to do in the long races.

They have more eyes out of the boat and with their focus is on structured manoeuvres, with careful timing for maximum efficiency, they are keen to finish the last three inshore races and two short ocean races with more podium places.

This would be a popular result for everyone, not just the Magenta boat crew and their large army of supporters but for sailing world-wide.

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