Volvo Ocean Race Leg 11 Start: Early advantage to Dongfeng
by Volvo Ocean Race 21 Jun 2018 07:06 PDT
21 June 2018
Volvo Ocean Race Leg 11, from Gothenburg to The Hague, start day. 21 June © Ainhoa Sanchez / Volvo Ocean Race
Three teams started the final leg of the Volvo Ocean Race on Thursday afternoon in an unprecedented dead-heat on the overall leaderboard.
And in the winner-take-all sprint from Gothenburg to The Hague, it was Charles Caudrelier's Dongfeng Race Team taking the early advantage over their rivals for the overall title, Team Brunel and MAPFRE.
While Dongfeng Race Team found a clean lane to windward for the race start, Xabi Fernández's MAPFRE and Bouwe Bekking's Team Brunel were entangled at the leeward end of the line. In fact, MAPFRE was boxed out at the line and needed to circle around before starting behind the fleet.
As the boats lined up for the early reaching stage of Leg 11, Caudrelier was in pole position, vying with team AkzoNobel for the early lead, and well ahead of his competition for overall race victory, Brunel and MAPFRE.
"We're excited to get going on this leg. It looks interesting and this is the kind of leg I really like," Caudrelier had said before the start. "It's reminds me of when I started to race, this kind of coastal racing. We're ready for the fight and we know it's going to be a big fight for sure."
Bekking's Team Brunel is the form team, having won three of the last four legs. They will need all of that 'flow' as the skipper calls it, to grab the title in The Hague.
"We believe we can win. I believe we can win," Bekking said on the dock, pre-start. "It's a fantastic way to finish this race. It's my eighth time and we think we can we do it. As a team we're still growing and we're confident we can beat the two red boats."
For MAPFRE the intensity of the final leg is something skipper Xabi Fernández welcomes.
"We've prepared all we can and we have plenty of confidence," Fernández said. "We're happy to have a little bit of everything in the forecast for this leg. There won't be much of a watch system for this one – all hands on deck!"
There's another battle at the opposite end of the leaderboard where David Witt's SHK/Scallywag leads Dee Caffari's Turn the Tide on Plastic by just one point. Caffari has made it clear she would love to overhaul the Scallywags on the final leg of the race.
"We need to beat them with a boat or more in between us," Caffari said. "We do not want to finish at the bottom of the leaderboard... So we have to sail our boat confidently and at the level we know and make sure we're in amongst the rest of the fleet."
But early on it was Scallywag starting the upwind beat to Norway ahead of Turn the Tide on Plastic. And as the fleet settled into what will be a 100-mile upwind push to Norway, Vestas 11th Hour Racing topped the leaderboard marginally ahead of Dongfeng Race Team. Significantly, Team Brunel and MAPFRE were trailing the fleet.
The race course for Leg 11 takes the boats west out of the islets dotting the entrance to Gothenburg before turning north to head to a turning mark just off the coast of Norway. Then, it's a dive south to round a mark near the Danish city of Aarhus, followed by a return north around the top of Denmark before racing south to The Hague. Numerous tactical options are in play throughout the leg, with the weather forecast promising strong winds early, and lighter conditions near the finish on Sunday.
"This leg is going to be about speed, managing the transitions, having the right sails, making the right choices," Caudrelier said. "It's a complete test. We will have all different kinds of windspeed and wind angles so it's going to be the best team who has learned the most and can take the good decisions under pressure who will win."
The ETA in Aarhus is for Friday afternoon, while the finish in The Hague is expected on Sunday afternoon. Factoring in the turning marks off Norway and Aarhus, the leg length could approach 1,000 nautical miles. (Note the turning mark off Norway is currently a mark of the course to be rounded before and after the Aarhus turning mark).
www.volvooceanrace.com
Volvo Ocean Race Leg 11 Leaderboard: (1300 UTC Thursday 21 June)
1. Vestas 11th Hour Racing – 951.8 nautical miles to the finish
2. Dongfeng Race Team – 0.0 nautical miles to leader
3. SHK / Scallywag – 0.1 nautical miles to leader
4. team AkzoNobel – 0.3 distance to the leader
5. Turn the Tide on Plastic – 0.4 nautical miles to leader
6. Team Brunel – 0.7 nautical miles to leader
7. MAPFRE – 0.8 nautical miles to leader
Volvo Ocean Race Overall Points Leaderboard after Leg 10:
1. MAPFRE – 65 points
2. Team Brunel – 65 points
3. Dongfeng Race Team – 64 points *
4. team AkzoNobel – 53 points
5. Vestas 11th Hour Racing – 38 points
6. SHK / Scallywag – 30 points
7. Turn the Tide on Plastic – 29 points
* One additional point will be awarded to the team with the best elapsed time at the conclusion of the race in The Hague. Currently, Dongfeng would win this point.
** Should there be a tie on the overall race leaderboard at the end of the offshore legs, the In-Port Race Series standings will be used to break the tie.
The Legends Race
Also starting on Thursday 21 June was The Legends Race. To celebrate the history of the race, 12 legendary boats from seven of the past editions have gathered for another chance at victory, putting their lineage on the line for a competition from Gothenburg, the Swedish stopover port of the Volvo Ocean Race, to the Dutch port of The Hague, the finish destination for the current round-the-world race.
Full coverage is here
Team Brunel’s all-decisive leg starts today (from Team Brunel)
Team Brunel started this edition of the race late, six days before the start in Alicante the team was complete for the first time. It was only during the race that the ideal composition was found.
Until the Auckland stopover, at the beginning of March, the results were disappointing. In Auckland after six legs Team Brunel was in sixth place. Since Auckland, the team has won three of the four legs and was the runner-up in Newport. Therefore, the team is unchanged for the next leg.
Skipper Bouwe Bekking said, "In the second part of the race we showed that we are one of the fastest. When you're fast, you're usually a little smarter than the rest. The cards have been dealt well for us and we just have to leave the two red boats behind. Just like in the previous legs, If you look at it that way, sailing is an easy game.
It's the eighth time that Bekking is participating in the Volvo Ocean Race. Although he has never won the race this makes him the most experienced sailor in the race. Regarding the importance of the race for his sailing career and a possible victory, Bekking is clear: "The Volvo Ocean Race is of course a very important thing in my career, I would very much like to tick this box of. I realise that now this opportunity is closer than ever. But when you're racing, you always want to be as good as possible, so in that respect, it's no different than normal. With the difference that this time it is not about the leg win. We have another goal we only have to keep the two red boats behind us!"
Despite the fact that Bekking tries to approach the leg as normally as possible, he also feels the pressure. Bekking: "Of course there is pressure, I think that is also healthy. But with the people we have on board, I really think we're a step ahead of the red boats. Everyone has been able to see how we communicate on board, not show too many feelings and even if you are at the back, continue to believe that you can come back. We have amazing talent on board, both young and old. That's the combination that will help us win!"
Dongfeng makes excellent start (from Dongfeng Race Team)
Skipper Charles Caudrelier admitted he was feeling nervous ahead of this leg, with the Volvo Ocean Race trophy so tantalisingly close, but he was looking forward to this final challenge.
"I am very excited to go for this leg, it looks very interesting and this is the kind of leg I really like," he said as he left the dock in Gothenburg. "It is where I started to race 20 years ago in the Figaro in the same kind of leg, so I am happy to go and I am ready to go for a fight; it is going to be a big fight for sure."
Caudrelier knows this will be a very demanding inshore race with all sorts of potential pitfalls. "I think it is going to be about everything we have learnt from the start. It is going to be about speed, about managing the transitions, making the right sail choices, but also making good tactical choices because it is all about the windshifts, light spots and then more wind. It is going to be a very complete test," he said.
Team AkzoNobel leads Volvo Ocean Race fleet out of Sweden (from Team AkzoNobel)
Although an overall podium place is beyond their grasp at this late stage, the team's Dutch skipper Simeon Tienpont says the sailors are keen to finish the round the world race on a positive note, particularly in the team's home port at The Hague.
"I feel privileged as a Dutchman to be having the finale of this amazing round the world race taking place in the Netherlands," he said. "It's a year ago exactly that we christened our new boat in The Hague and we all want to make sure we finish this campaign strongly there.
"It's going to be a classic northern Europe offshore leg and we will have a little bit of everything when it comes to the weather. We will be going all out to be first into The Hague and this is the leg I really want to win – every bit as much as the Kiwi's on board wanted to win our leg into New Zealand," he concluded.
Team AkzoNobel helmsman and sail trimmer Martine Grael (BRA) says that after finishing both the last two ocean legs in podium positions – second on Leg 9 from Newport to Cardiff and third on Leg 10 from Cardiff to Gothenburg – the crew are focused on delivering another top three result on this final leg to The Hague.
"This promises to be a very cold and unpleasant leg, with very little sleep," Grael said. "It's going to be short and very intense, but it's the last one and we are all ready for a big final push.
"The course has quite a few zigzags and that means lots of maneuvers and sail changes, so there will be plenty of stacking. We will be running our standby watch system so that means we could all be awake for the majority of the three days of this leg."
"Of course, we want a good result in The Hague – the home port of team AkzoNobel – and we are all looking forward to trying to close out our round the world adventure with a good finish on Leg 11," Grael summed up.
Vestas 11th Hour Racing begins final leg of Volvo Ocean Race (from Vestas 11th Hour Racing)
"We have grown stronger as a group this race, and I have as an individual," said Skipper Charlie Enright. "With many ups and downs, had the ball bounced a different way we might be talking about four boats at the top. The fact is we're not, and we have the opportunity to play spoiler for some of these other teams and close out the race on a strong note."
The final leg of the Volvo Ocean Race started today in 17-20 knots in Gothenburg, Sweden and is expected to end on Sunday in The Hague, Netherlands. In between the start and the finish, there is a Scandinavian-tour course planned with a mark set off Norway and a turning mark in Aarhus, Denmark - home of both Vestas and sailor Jena Mai Hansen.
"Sailing into my home waters is so exciting and great for Aarhus," said the Volvo Ocean Race rookie and Olympic Bronze Medalist. "I can't wait to see my family and friends waving on the shore and in just a few weeks it's hard to believe I will be back in Aarhus competing in the World Championships to qualify for Tokyo 2020."
With coastal sailing conditions and a variable weather forecast, the fleet will face difficult decisions throughout the sprint leg. The start sent the fleet directly out of Gothenburg in reaching conditions with Vestas 11th Hour Racing in the middle of the parade of boats. Then after tacking around the last mark, the team took the lead for the 100nm upwind slog to the Steingrunnen mark along on the Norweigan coast. The fleet is expected to round that mark this evening and the Aarhus mark tomorrow afternoon.
"We have quite a complex weather situation," said Navigator Simon Fisher. "In the first part of the race, a puffy northwest gradient will transition to a flukey northerly then back into windy conditions as we go south to Denmark. As we exit into the North Sea, the race is going to be more controlled by a high pressure which could make for a tricky light wind finish."
Overall, fifth place is mathematically set for the team, but after a Leg 1 win eight months ago, the Vestas 11th Hour Racing sailors are looking to bookend this campaign with another leg win.
"Some things are out of your control in this world," continued Enright. "You can only focus on what you can improve - and for us, that has been putting sustainability at the core of everything we do. We are racing for more than a trophy, we are racing for a legacy to inspire change and protect our oceans."