Please select your home edition
Edition
Velocitek 2026

Volvo Ocean Race – Team Brunel crossed the equator in fourth position

by Team Brunel on 13 Nov 2017
Team Brunel crossed the equator in fourth position – Volvo Ocean Race Rich Edwards / Volvo Ocean Race
Team Brunel crossed the equator on Monday afternoon in fourth position. The team of Volvo Ocean Race veteran Bouwe Bekking crossed the equator after nearly eight days only 10 nm. behind Leg leader Dongfeng.

Strong weekend Team Brunel
The sailors aboard Team Brunel had a strong weekend. They caught up Team AkzoNobel and the connection with the front of the fleet was realised.

'The last 24 hours have been full of of activities. Sail changes to match the conditions, and hopefully getting it right when one of the frequent squalls is hitting you,' skipper Bouwe Bekking wrote.

'We have done alright performance wise, slowly clawing back into Vestas and Mapfre. Dongfeng seems to be slippery in this tight reaching. Akzo barely hanging on in this group, now barely can see their 'headlights'.'

Americas Cup sailors meet King Neptune
For Peter Burling - World Sailor of the Year - (NZL), Kyle Langford (AUS) and Carlo Huisman (NED), passing the equator meant there first encounter with King Neptune. The three former Americas Cup sailors faced the King.



Crossing equator positions

1. Dongfeng Raceteam: 09.41 UTC
2. MAPFRE: 09.57 UTC
3. Vestas 11th Hour Racing: 10.26 UTC
4. Team Brunel: 10.35 UTC
5. Team AkzoNobel: 1126 UTC

Boats six and seven, Scallywag and Turn the Tide on Plastic didn't crossed the equator yet.

North Sails Loft 57 PodcastV-DRY-XMackay Boats 728x90 BOTTOM

Related Articles

Globe40 Leg 5 Update
On the road to the Horn, tough first days After a superb start in Valparaiso Bay, the competitors in the 5th leg had to contend with very challenging conditions as soon as they passed the protective point of the bay; namely, a course to sail upwind in 25 to 30 knots of wind and choppy seas.
Posted today at 5:21 am
Records tumble in the Antigua 360
RORC's annual anticlockwise lap of Antigua To break records on modern day sail boats requires a fine balance between strong wind and flat water as too much of the former creates too large a seaway limiting top speed.
Posted today at 1:08 am
Port of LA Harbor Cup announces lineup
Los Angeles Yacht Club to host annual intercollegiate regatta The Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup - one of the preeminent intercollegiate sailing events in the nation - will return to Los Angeles waters March 6, 7 and 8, 2026.
Posted on 20 Feb
Argo smashes Antigua 360 record
Jason Carroll's MOD70 blasted around the 48nm course in just under 2.5 hours The Royal Ocean Racing Club Antigua 360 Race organised in partnership with the Antigua Yacht Club has a new race record! Jason Carroll's MOD70 Argo blasted around the 48nm course in an elapsed time of 2 Hrs 29 Mins 20 Secs.
Posted on 20 Feb
This was a fishing net
The Henri-Lloyd Bergen line uses pioneering NetPlus® recycled nylon Born from the sea, we feel a responsibility to protect it. Our Bergen line uses pioneering NetPlus® recycled nylon, transforming discarded fishing nets into high-performance fabric.
Posted on 20 Feb
Playbook & preparation for the RORC Caribbean 600
Pressure over promise: Extracts from Brian Thompson's 600 Playbook The RORC Caribbean 600 is a race of fine margins. Across countless tactical corners, preparation, positioning and playbook calls will decide who thrives.
Posted on 20 Feb
Camden Classics Cup registration opens tomorrow
Get excited for two days of great racing on Penobscot Bay Get excited for two days of great racing on Penobscot Bay, festive parties, the annual Youth Regatta and the Parade of Sail around Camden Harbor.
Posted on 20 Feb
Noa Hopper enters the Global Solo Challenge
Campaigning a Koopmans 41, Penelope - an aluminium cutter launched in 1997 Noa comes to the event from a life shaped by the ocean, driven by the same underlying impulse that defines the GSC: to commit fully, solve what the sea presents, and discover what's possible when life is reduced to the essentials.
Posted on 20 Feb
McIntyre Mini Globe fleet sets off on the last leg
2300-miles from Recife, Brazil to the finish line in Antigua On Thursday 19th February 2026 at 2pm local time, eleven ALMA Class Globe 580 Mighty Mini's racing in the McIntyre Mini Globe Race set sail from Recife in Brazil on the last 2300-mile leg of a 24,000-mile solo race around the planet.
Posted on 20 Feb
The World's Toughest Race?
Clipper Round the World Yacht Race Update after Stage 6 The Clipper Round the World Race is what many regard as true ocean racing. Exposed to the elements on deck in traditionally shaped displacement yachts.
Posted on 20 Feb