Bouwe Bekking selected by Team JAJO skipper Jelmer van Beek for The Ocean Race
by Team JAJO 15 Dec 2022 20:43 AEDT
Bouwe Bekking © Marcello Maniagni / Sailing Holland
Team JAJO strengthens with Bouwe Bekking. Skipper Jelmer van Beek is pleased to add the experience of the legendary Dutch around-the-world racer Bouwe Bekking - a veteran of eight editions of The Ocean Race - as watch captain.
The addition of Bekking brings the total number of Dutch sailors on board Team JAJO to six.
"The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup gives the VO65 teams and crews the opportunity to experience The Ocean Race. It's an ideal opportunity to perform and present yourself to the public and sponsors under pressure. The fact that I get to do that together with this young generation of mainly Dutch sailors is something special and makes it nice." Thus, an enthusiastic Bekking about his Team JAJO selection.
Bekking continues: "The spirit of the Team JAJO campaign appeals to me. Offering opportunities to a new generation, with a young skipper: Jelmer van Beek. For the sake of clarity, Jelmer will take the tactical and strategic decisions together with Max, the navigator. If asked I will give them points and ideas that they can consider."
Transferring knowledge
Skipper Jelmer van Beek: "We are delighted that we have been able to add such an experienced sailor to our team for Leg 1. With Bouwe we bring a lot of experience on board. It's someone who knows the boat as one of the best. I personally know him well and have enjoyed working with him in the past."
Van Beek continues: "In my experience, it's very valuable to have experience on board. During last year's The Ocean Race Europe, we saw that when we had experienced men such as Tienpont, Poortman, and Van Niekerk with us in collaboration with DutchSail. That generation of sailors has so much knowledge and experience, something we directly benefit from. That we for Leg 1 can take advantage of Bouwe's knowledge of the boat, and the game is awesome and will hopefully give us a kickstart."
Van Beek is currently in Alicante where Team JAJO is preparing for the In-Port race on January 8 and the start of Leg 1, a week later, on January 15. This training period is used to conclude the selection. With four spots to fill Van Beek expects to be able to announce his full crew before Christmas.
Team JAJO selection:
1. Jelmer van Beek - NED - skipper
2. Max Deckers - NED - navigator
3. Bouwe Bekking - NED - watch leader
4. Rutger Vos - NED - boat captain
5. Laura Vos - NED - medic
6. Jorden van Rooijen - NED - bowman