MAPFRE win over Dongfeng and Vestas 11th Hour Racing in Volvo Ocean Race Leg 2
by Volvo Ocean Race 25 Nov 2017 07:35 GMT
23 November 2017
MAPFRE has won Leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race, arriving into Cape Town ahead of Dongfeng Race Team and Vestas 11th Hour Racing...
MAPFRE, the Spanish-flagged team led by skipper Xabi Fernández has won Leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race, a 7,000 nautical mile marathon from Lisbon, Portugal to Cape Town, South Africa.
"It's amazing, we're super-happy. We arrived here in one piece and in front of the others; we can't ask for more," skipper Xabi Fernández said moments after finishing.
MAPFRE trailed Dongfeng Race Team on the long charge to the south, but last weekend, 14 days into the leg and after crossing the Doldrums, navigator Juan Vila and skipper Xabi Fernández put in a quick gybe to the southwest that Dongfeng didn't match. It turned out to be a winning move; within hours the Spanish team had a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
In contrast, after leading from the first night, Dongfeng suddenly found itself in fourth place two weeks into the leg. But skipper Charles Caudrelier led his team to an inspiring fight-back. Over the final days, Dongfeng clawed its way back into a well-deserved second place.
"A good second place," said Caudrelier. "For sure at one moment we were hoping for better, but a few days ago it was much worse and we made a fantastic comeback.
"Well done to MAPFRE, they did less mistakes than us, but we never gave up, the crew never complained, they just worked on the comeback... We have amazing speed in strong winds, we've worked on that a lot, and it was unbelievable, we were nearly a knot faster sometimes."
Completing the podium is Vestas 11th Hour Racing, the winner of Leg 1. Skipper Charlie Enright's team was always in the mix with the leaders on this leg, but couldn't find a way to slip into the lead.
"We're happy with a podium result against a lot of good teams," Enright said, dockside in Cape Town. "We're not satisfied yet with how we're sailing the boat, so we still have a lot of work to do, but we'll keep chipping away. We're still trying to get faster through the water and streamline our decision-making, but it's a long race. We have time."
The next boat to finish should be Team Brunel, expected to cross the line in Cape Town in fourth place sometime after midnight (UTC) Friday night.
Then it will be another 24 hours or so to the trailing group of three – team AkzoNobel, Turn the Tide on Plastic, and Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag are engaged in a tight battle for fifth place. Current projections have them all finishing with an hour of each just after midnight on Saturday night (UTC).
Leg 2 Provisional Results as at Friday 24 November (Leg 2, Day 20) at 19:45 UTC:
1. MAPFRE -- FINISHED -- 15:10.33 UTC – 19 days, 01h:10m:33s
2. Dongfeng Race Team -- FINISHED -- 18:02.39 UTC – 19 days, 04h:02m:39s
3. Vestas 11th Hour Racing -- FINISHED -- 19:37.53 UTC – 19 days, 05h:37m:53s
4. Team Brunel +59.8 nautical miles to the finish
5. team AkzoNobel +382.6
6. Turn the Tide on Plastic +385.4
7. Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag +387.1
Volvo Ocean Race – Current Leaderboard:
1. MAPFRE -- FINISHED -- 14 points (after Leg 2)
2. Vestas 11th Hour Racing -- FINISHED -- 13 points (after Leg 2)
3. Dongfeng Race Team -- FINISHED -- 11 points (after Leg 2)
4. team AkzoNobel -- RACING -- 4 points (after Leg 1)
5. Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag -- FINISHED -- 3 points (after Leg 1)
6. Team Brunel – 2 points (after Leg 1)
7. Turn the Tide on Plastic – 1 point (after Leg 1)
www.volvooceanrace.com
Dongfeng finishes in "a good second place" into Cape Town after an epic voyage from Lisbon (from Dongfeng Race Team)
Dongfeng Race Team reached South Africa this evening in second place at the end of an epic Volvo Ocean Race Leg 2 that sees the red and white Chinese boat now sitting in third place overall on the leaderboard.
Dongfeng, which is sponsored by the Chinese truck and car manufacturer Dongfeng Motor Corporation, crossed the finish line under the shadow of Table Mountain at dusk after a voyage lasting 19 days, four hours, two minutes and 39 seconds.
With an average speed of 17.2 knots, she reached the end of the 7,000-nautical mile leg from the Portuguese capital Lisbon two hours and 52 minutes behind leg winner and new race leader MAPFRE, skippered by Xabi Fernandez.
Frenchman Charles Caudrelier, who is leading Dongfeng Race Team for the second successive Volvo Ocean Race, was delighted to secure the runner's up spot after a tough stage that saw Dongfeng dominate proceedings for two weeks before falling back to fourth place and then recovering.
"It's a good second place," said a relieved Caudrelier moments after stepping ashore at the Volvo Ocean Race village at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront complex in Cape Town. "At one point we were hoping to finish better but we made a mistake. But we made a great comeback. It was fantastic.
"For this edition," Caudrelier added, "we worked to be faster in strong wind and it has paid off. On board we have fabulous sailors, a lot of experience and exceptional high-speed helmsmen. That's good, the next step will be fast!"
Caudrelier congratulated Fernandez and his Spanish crew who are now three points ahead of Dongfeng in the overall standings. "Well done to MAPFRE – they did an amazing job and deserve their victory here," he said.
The Frenchman went on to express his gratitude to his own team, blaming himself for a gybe off the Brazilian coast that cost Dongfeng the lead.
"I thank all the crew for what they did and the way they did it. I felt very guilty for missing the timing of the gybe but the team remained united. We were in such a strong position and it was a stupid mistake to go like that into the high pressure. We wanted to win too much and we lost a lot. But on board, the sailors have never reproached me. They said to themselves: 'We are going to give everything to recover' and we got back, little-by-little," he said.
Navigator Pascal Bidegorry was elated to finally make landfall in South Africa. "As soon as I arrived, I felt so happy to be here. It is so amazing and it is worth all the hard work for the five minutes when you arrive with Table Mountain in front of you. I think it is the only place in the world that you get that feeling. Second place in the Volvo Ocean Race in Leg 2 is a good result," he said.
Bidegorry was happy to take his share of the responsibility for the error off the Brazilian coast. "We did something stupid and I was sleeping at a bad moment," he said. "What is difficult is that we spoke a lot the day before with Charles about the decision. It was right to go south but we did not do what we wanted to do. I thought we were going to lose and it was horrible. All that day on starboard tack, we were not catching any of the pressure (wind) and we were losing to the other teams. It was not good. But afterwards you change your mind and you try to be reactive to the situation in front of you."
Chinese bowman Chen "Horace" Jinhao, believes the crew showed its mettle under pressure as it fought back as Dongfeng hammered her way eastwards, setting the leg distance record of 519 miles in 24 hours. "We were leaders for fourteen days and we made a mistake, but the best part of the race for me was seeing the team get together and become stronger," he said.
"We came back and kept coming back; this was so exciting and the feeling was special. On watch with Jeremie (Beyou), we kept saying 'hey man, we need to keep working hard and make this boat go fast - we can do it!' My thanks to all the crew and even to the other six teams for a great race. They gave us the chance to work hard and improve ourselves and keep learning. We can only get stronger from this type of racing," Horace added.
Dutch sailor Carolijn Brouwer, one of two female crew on board Dongfeng alongside Marie Riou of France, was also impressed with the way the team handled adversity after leading for so long.
"We worked together as a team really well. We showed it on Leg 1 and we showed it again now. In a bad situation we can make a good situation. We made it right and this is the strength of the team," she said.
This 7,000-mile leg started with strong conditions off the Portuguese coast and then a fast run to the Equator. The Doldrums crossing was quick and relatively straightforward. It was in the southern hemisphere that the racing became increasingly tactical as the boats gybed down the South American coast trying to get around the St Helena high and then pick up a frontal system heading east towards South Africa.
Dongfeng Race Team finished third overall in the 2014-15 edition of the Volvo Ocean Race. It is focused on the twin objectives of trying to win this race and help grow the sport of offshore ocean racing in China.
After a well-earned break the crew will return to racing with the Cape Town In-Port Race on December 8 and then the start of Leg 3 from, Cape Town to Melbourne, on December 10. That stage could have a big influence on the final outcome of the race because it scores double-points.
Vestas 11th Hour Racing Finishes 3rd in Leg 2 of Volvo Ocean Race (from Vestas 11th Hour Racing)
After 7,000 miles of close ocean racing, it was a podium finish for Vestas 11th Hour Racing in Cape Town, South Africa. The crew of seven men and two women, plus one onboard reporter, finished in third place at 1937 UTC on November 24. The Danish and American flagged vessel left Lisbon, Portugal on November 5th with a bullseye on their back after winning Leg 1 from Alicante, Spain.
"For us, it continues to be about the process. We are trying to get faster through the water and fine tune our decision-making process," said skipper Charlie Enright (USA) upon docking into V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. "Lucky for us, this isn't going to be decided until June, so we still have a lot of time."
"We got slingshot out of Lisbon and encountered a lot of downwind fast sailing," continued Enright's co-founder and Team Director Mark Towill (USA). "The team came together well. We still have a long way to go but we can't argue with a podium finish."
For over half of the 20 days at sea, the team was within sight of at least one of their competitors.
"The close racing of this leg over many miles has offered us a tremendous opportunity to up our game, evaluate our setup, and we have learned some good lessons and made some improvements onboard," said Navigator Simon Fisher (UK).
The last 24 hours were nail-biting with both Vestas 11th Hour Racing and Dongfeng Racing battling it out for second place opting to go into Stealth Mode - the once-per-leg opportunity to have positions withheld from the skeds and tracker for 24 hours.
"We're pushing hard wherever we can," said Jena Mai Hansen (DEN), on her first Volvo Ocean Race leg. "We are a very young team, and we didn't expect to start out this well. It's been a dream start for us. The team is working really well together; We're gonna keep fighting for more."
"The boat has held up well this leg. There were a few sail tears early in the leg and an issue with the toilet a few days ago that wasn't a fun repair, but we got those all set and have been happy with her performance," said Nick Dana (USA), Boat Captain.
Finishing third in Leg 2 puts five more points on the scoreboard for Vestas 11th Hour Racing. This means the team currently sits in 2nd overall, just one point behind the Leg 2 winner, MAPFRE and 2 points ahead of Dongfeng Race Team who finished second in the leg.