Volvo Ocean Race - So close, yet so far!

by Turn The Tide On Plastic on 29 Oct 2017 After an epic battle, Leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race from Alicante to Lisbon came to a close. For the last 24 hours of the 1,700 nautical mile leg, Turn the Tide on Plastic and Team Brunel were locked in a minute-by-minute battle, of which the outcome was impossible to predict until the final moments. It was give and take all the way into Lisbon for both teams, and proof for skipper Dee Caffari and her young crew that the game is far from over. However, much to the team’s disappointment Turn the Tide on Plastic finished in seventh place behind Team Brunel.

Caffari and her crew had a seemingly good morale as they stepped onto the dock bearing smiles. They battled hard with Brunel for two days and while the finish position isn’t what was hoped for, Caffari was in good spirits when interviewed, relaxed at the thought her team were in the mix the whole way through.

Caffari said, 'it was great to be able to stay in touch with Brunel given the huge experience that they have on board but this is obviously not where we want to be - coming in last. But we are learning, we are building the team and each leg we will be stronger. Overall we performed well and this leg reinforced my confidence in the very talented sailors we have who know how to make a boat go fast, we're just putting it all together. We identified that one of our weaknesses is at night, when there is a lot less feel and senses, but this will come in good time.'

For Turn the Tide on Plastic, Leg 1 started with plenty of energy and optimism as the crew sailed out of Alicante. Pleased with their results in the inshore section at the start of the race, the confidence gained led to good decisions being made as they approached the Gibraltar Strait.

The exit from the Gibraltar Strait was good, perhaps even a little conservative, as they chose to go to a slightly less strong breeze before jibing.

Racing against the other boats enabled the team to match speed and learn where they got their settings right and wrong. It was not so good being dropped by Dongfeng and to a certain extent Scallywag. But they seized the opportunity to match their speed and learn – after all it’s all about tweaking. The end of the race gave super light tricky conditions on the approach to the finish, with the boats now sailing upwind to the finish and the last of the tide helping them towards the line. As they approached the finish line an easterly breeze just started to fill in.

Local Portuguese sailor, Bernardo Freitas said, 'it feels great to sail into my city. It’s been a long week with highs and lows. We have had a lot of different conditions but sailing home is always more exciting and it was a good feeling to share some local knowledge as we sailed into Lisbon.'

Even crossing the finish line, hi-fives were thrown around as the boat and the crew arrived good humoured, almost making it hard to believe they finished last. “I’m gutted, we came last,” Caffari laughed at the dock after the finish. “We just had the greatest two-boat testing with Team Brunel for 200 miles, so at least that was fantastic.”

With low expectations, this team are keen to ruffle some feathers, it’s just a question of when.