Volvo Ocean Race Alicante in-port race
by Volvo Ocean Race 4 Oct 2014 19:01 BST
4 October 2014
Bravo Charlie! Team Alvimedica rule Alicante waves
American newcomer leaves experienced rivals in wake
Charlie Enright's smile said it all as he led his young Team Alvimedica crew to victory in the opening skirmish of the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 on Saturday.
There's a long, long way to go and the Alicante in-port race success does not even count towards the offshore overall trophy apart from as a tie-breaker in the case of teams finishing level on points.
But as a confidence-builder for the Turkish/American team, you could hardly beat victory under bright blue skies and 14-knot winds in front of thousands of fans who thronged the Alicante harbour.
Enright was impressively poised afterwards. "Surprised that we're able to do well? Not that much. We've had some good practice, the guys have been working really hard on maneuvres and we're happy with the win," he said.
"We haven't done anything that counts for the overall trophy yet, but it's a confidence builder, it gives us the feeling that we can do well again."
Enright (USA), 30, and his right-hand man Mark Towill (USA) know all about fairytale starts after hatching a dream to one day compete in offshore racing's leading event on the film set of the Disney movie, Morning Light, some seven years ago.
The realisation of that ambition took a lot of determination and the hammering on doors of countless sponsors before Turkish surgical instrument manufacturer Alvimedica CEO Cem Bozkurt finally saw potential in them and supported their campaign.
On the face of Saturday's surprise result, that confidence could be richly repaid, although it's obviously very early days.
Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, winners of the 2011 Alicante in-port race, were denied a repeat triumph by a mere five seconds in just over 14 knots of wind with Spanish entrants MAPFRE third a further 25 seconds adrift.
Generally, the racing could barely have been tighter in almost perfect conditions for sailing and the lead changed hands several times after a storming start with China's Dongfeng Race Team grabbing the early initiative.
Team Brunel (NED) eventually pipped them for fourth spot with Team SCA's all-women crew (SWE) leaving Team Vestas Wind (DEN) comfortably behind to take sixth.
Leg 1 from Alicante to Cape Town begins next Saturday. In all, the boats will cover 38,739 nautical miles over nine months before the adventure finishes in Gothenburg, Sweden on June 27, 2015. They will visit 11 ports in all, including a pit-stop in The Hague.
Alicante in-port race results:
1. Team Alvimedica (Turkey/USA) 14:52:02 - 1pt
2. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing 14:52:07 - 2pts
3. MAPFRE (Spain) 14:52:27 - 3pts
4. Team Brunel (The Netherlands) 14:52:48 - 4pts
5. Dongfeng Race Team (China) 14:53:14 - 5pts
6. Team SCA (Sweden) 14:53:51 - 6pts
7. Team Vestas Wind (Denmark) 14:55:24 - 7pts
www.volvooceanrace.com
A day of in-port race action and emotion (from Dongfeng Race Team)
Out on the water this afternoon in Alicante, the first in-port race put paid to pre-race nerves, whilst on shore emotion was running high at this morning's team press conference, when Wolf (Jiru Yang) broke down in tears as he dedicated the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race to Leo.
From Wolf: "During the press conference Leo explained he worked very hard and congratulated Horace and I for being onboard for Leg 1. I know how hard this is for him because he tries and tries so hard, but he is not yet ready for whatever reason, and I can feel he's so sad but he's so proud of us. This is why I left my place in the press conference and hugged him – this is why I cry. From the beginning I said, I race for China but now, now I also race for Leo."
The team spirit kicked in as the crew rallied round to give Wolf and Leo support and comfort, as both were visibly upset, demonstrating just what it really means for these Chinese rookies to be here. The media, used to dealing with race-hardened pro sailors, were touched by the emotion and responded by giving all the sailors a rousing round of applause.
Dongfeng Race Team quickly re-grouped as their focus turned to the first official in-port race of the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15. After yesterday's win in the official practice race and a third in the Pro-Am Race, the team's confidence was boosted further by a respectable finish today that saw the young guns of Alvimedica take victory. Charles Caudrelier and his team led from the start and were soon locked in a three-way battle with the experienced Abu Dhabi and Alvimedica for the majority of the race. On approach to the final gate rounding the VO65 Dongfeng crossed just behind Abu Dhabi but at the final mark rounding, they lost a minute or so trying to get the A3 unfurled and working – enough to let Mapfre and Brunel through in the close racing, resulting in the team finishing in fifth place.
It was clear that Yang Jiru (Wolf) felt happy with the team's performance. "It was fantastic, the feeling when you're leading is great, slight problem with the unfurling but I think we're getting there! Still a lot we need to learn but we're happy to be making these mistakes in the beginning rather than further down the line. Now I just look forward to the start of the race next Saturday."
For Skipper Charles Caudrelier to be in the top three for the majority of the race has certainly had a positive affect on the team. "As a team we did a fantastic job, communication onboard was really good. I am a bit disappointed because of course when you lead you want to go on leading and small mistakes happen but overall I'm really happy. After the press conference and the onboard performance today I feel ready, after all it's less than 7 days to go!"