Volvo Ocean Race– Team Brunel ready for Mirpuri Foundation InPort Race

by Team Brunel on 3 Nov 2017 On Friday afternoon, 14.00 UTC, the second In-Port race of the Volvo Ocean Race is planned in Lisbon. Close to the coast of the Portuguese capital, Team Brunel will race the six other 65-foot boats.

There are no crew changes between Leg one and Leg two. But, but we do have Timo Hagoort back on board.

Route
The weather forecast looks promising with 10 to 15 knots coming from the South West. Due to this wind direction, the length of the race course is likely to be confined by the banks of the Tagus River. Principal Race Officer Bill O'Hara is anticipating the course to be short, with at least three or possibly up to four laps. The target time for the race is 60-minutes.

Bekking: It will come down to boat handling
Bekking: “If we are really going to do the short course, it will demand a lot from the crew. We’ll have to do a lot of manoeuvres and it will come down to boat handling. After Leg 1 and the In-Port Race in Alicante we had a thorough evaluation. We know what we want to do differently. However, the result of an In-Port Race still depends on many factors.

Hagoort back on board
Timo Hagoort, Team Brunel crewmember in the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15, is going to be one of our three guests on board. For 30-year-old Hagoort this means a brief reunion with the race. Especially because in the last race, he crossed the finish in Lisbon as the winner of that leg.

Hagoort: “Nowadays I work at Brunel as a Consultant, but the race is always alluring. It’s fun to see the campaign from a different perspective, as an employee. I can only speak for myself and my department, but we find the race really exciting. The talks continue at the coffee machines after every position report on the Race Tracker. But today is all about enjoying it!”

In-Port race versus Leg
The In-Port races are no goal on its own for Team Brunel. The Volvo Ocean Race has an overall leader board for the different offshore legs. Besides that the teams will race an In-Port Race in every stopover, which adds up to an overall leader board. If, at the end of the Volvo Ocean Race, teams are tied on the overall leader board for the offshore legs, the In-Port Race results will break the tie.

Team Brunel Crew list
Skipper - Bouwe Bekking NED
Bowman - Carlo Huisman NED
Helm-trimmer - Alberto Bolzan ITA
Helm-trimmer - Kyle Langford AUS
Navigator - Andrew Cape AUS
Helm-trimmer - Maciel Cicchetti ARG
Helm-trimmer - Peter Burling NZL
Helm-trimmer - Annie Lush GBR
Helm-trimmer - Abby Ehler GBR
OBR - Richard Edwards GBR