Volvo Ocean Race - Team Alvimedica edged out in the Battle of Lorient

by Sail-World.com NZL on 12 Jun 2015 Team Alvimedica placed sixth on the water after a fierce five-boat battle for third place in the final 24 hours of Leg 8 to Lorient, France.

For her crew from New Zealand, USA, Italy, Australia and Francethe shortest leg of the Volvo Ocean Race proved to be one of the toughest on the seven-boat fleet with strong winds and mostly upwind sailing battering the fleet for much of the 647-nautical-mile leg from Lisbon, Portugal.

The all-women’s Team SCA dominated, claiming their first leg victory of the race in the pre-dawn darkness today. Team Vestas Wind, racing a rebuilt boat, finished second in the first leg they have sailed since running aground in Leg 2. Ian Walker and his Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing crew placed third, essentially clinching an overall race victory with one leg still to sail.

The leg to France was disappointing for Team Alvimedica skipper Charlie Enright as the crew had set their sights on a podium finish and looked poised to do just that before going into the final night across the Bay of Biscay. The leg served up a wide range of challenging conditions to a tightly compressed fleet fighting hard for every point. It was a close battle until the very end, with Mapfre and Team Brunel just edging out Team Alvimedica by mere minutes for the fourth and fifth place positions respectively.

“The Bay of Biscay lived up to its name of Bay of Certain Death with gusts over 40,” Enright said of the upwind and often uncomfortable conditions. “We did a pretty good job with that bit. We got a good jump by going offshore with an eventual left shift and picked up a few places there. We wish we could have held on. It’s obviously disappointing for us,” Enright said back at the dock.

“We had the ability to get the best fourth place in the race so far the way the points stacked up but we weren’t able to hold on for a number of reasons. The reality is it’s really close – we didn’t sail poorly by any means. The racing was just so close.”

Team co-founder and watch captain Mark Towill said the short but intense leg produced decent performance but not enough to earn the podium result the team was fighting for. “It was a really intense 72 hours. We were within sight of boats the whole time. We put ourselves in some good spots with potential to gain. The team sailed well – it was a decent leg, but a disappointing result. It was upwind sailing the whole way and big breeze and we handled that pretty well. The team sailed the boat well and the maneuver were good. We just didn’t position ourselves as well as we could have.”

The race is still on for the final podium positions in Gothenburg with only six points separating the second through fifth place teams.

Team Alvimedica race crew for Leg 8 to Lorient: Alberto Bolzan, 33, (ITA); Nick Dana, 29, (Newport, RI, USA); Charlie Enright, 30, (Bristol, RI, USA); Ryan Houston, 32, (NZL); Sebastien Marsset, 30, (Lorient, FRA); Will Oxley, 50, (AUS); Dave Swete, 30, (NZL); Mark Towill, 26, (Kanehoe, HI, USA); and OnBoard Reporter Amory Ross, 30, (Newport, RI, USA).

Team Alvimedica is the youngest entry in the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015, the world's toughest and longest sporting event. The crew is led by American skipper Charlie Enright, age 30. Alvimedica, the European based medical devices company, is the team’s owner. Founded in 2007, Alvimedica is a fast growing challenger in the global field of interventional cardiology, committed to developing minimally-invasive technologies. This is the team’s first entry in the extremely challenging 39,000-mile race that started October 11, 2014 from Alicante, Spain and features stopovers in 11 ports around the world.

Volvo Ocean Race Overall Standings:
1. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing – 19 pts
2. Team Brunel – 27 pts
3. Dongfeng Race Team - 29 pts
4. MAPFRE – 31 pts
5. Team Alvimedica – 33 pts
6. Team SCA – 44 pts
7. Team Vestas Wind - 54 pts

In-Port Race Overall standings (Lorient In-Port Race is June 14)
1. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing - 21pts
2. Team Brunel - 25pts
3. Team SCA - 28pts
4. Team Alvimedica – 31pts
5. MAPFRE - 32pts
6. Dongfeng Race Team- 33pts
7. Team Vestas Wind -59pts