Volvo Ocean Race 2017-2018

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The thirteenth edition of the Volvo Ocean Race took place from 2017 to 2018. The high seas regatta led in stages around the world.

Boats

As in 2014/15 , the race was held with the one- size- fits-all Volvo Ocean 65 . In order to keep the costs for participation within limits, the boats were designed from the outset for use in two regattas. Yachts from the 2014/15 staging were therefore overhauled and modernized and used again. There was also a new building ( AkzoNobel ). The yachts were serviced by the race organizer between the individual stages. Care is also taken to ensure that they are identical. This leads down to component level; so z. B. Trees and masts balanced with weights so that they are the same on all boats.

Innovations

Compared to the previous regatta, some things have changed:

  • The scoring system was changed to increase the risk tolerance to take a different course than the fleet on a stage.
  • The onboard reporters are no longer permanently assigned to a team, but switch between the boats.
  • The rule for youngsters has been tightened: two crew members must be under 30 at the end of the race.
  • Boats with women on board are more manned: the teams had the choice between a crew of seven men or seven men and one or two women or seven women and one or two men or five men and five women or eleven women.
  • For the first time, the yachts are equipped with a hydrogen generator, which in future will make the boats independent of fossil fuels.
  • The boats were modified; u. a. the keel was lengthened and a further headsail (called J0 ) was added, which at 171.3 m² is now the largest jib and at the same time the smallest of the headsail that extends up to the mast top. It is intended for cruising courses and half wind courses in light to medium winds.
  • The crew members can send messages to online communication platforms from all boats .

Attendees

Seven boats competed:

Initially, a German campaign also tried to send a boat into the race, but is now planning to participate in the next regatta.

As expected by the previous winner, Ian Walker, the new rules ensured that there were more women sailors on board. All teams have male and female sailors on board. Turn the Tide on Plastic started with a crew of five women and five men, the remaining boats were sailed by seven men and one or two women. As of October 19, 2017, the following are registered for the regatta (the number indicates the number of participations as a boat crew in a Volvo Ocean Race ):

  • AkzoNobel : Simeon Tienpont (NL; 3; skipper), Brad Farrand (NZ; 0; bow man, trimmer), Luke Molloy (AU; 1; helmsman, trimmer), Nicolai Sehested (DK; 1; helmsman, trimmer), Martine Grael (BR; 0; trimmer), Emily Nagel (BM; 0), Ross Monson (US; 0).
  • Brunel : Bouwe Bekking (NL; 7; skipper), Andrew Cape (6; AU; navigator), Kyle Langford (AU; 0; trimmer), Juanpa Marcos (ARG; 0; bow man), Alberto Bolzan (IT; 1; helmsman , Watchman, trimmer), Maciel Cicchetti (ARG / IT; 2; helmsman, watchman, trimmer), Peter Burling (NZ; 0; helmsman, trimmer), Carlo Huisman (NL; 0; helmsman, watchman, trimmer), Annie Lush (UK; 1; trimmer), Abby Ehler (UK; 2; boatwoman).
  • Dongfeng : Charles Caudrelier (FR; 2; Skipper), Carolijn Brouwer (NL; 2), Marie Riou (FR; 0), Jérémie Beyou (FR; 0), Stu Bannatyne (NZ; 7), Daryl Wislang (NZ; 4 ), Jiru Yang (CN; 1), Liu Xue (CN; 1), Chen Jinhao (CN; 1), Jack Bouttell (AU; 1; bow man), Pascal Bidégorry (FR; 2; navigator), Kevin Escoffier (FR ; 1; bow man).
  • Mapfre : Xabi Fernández (ES; 4; skipper), Sophie Ciszek (AU / US; 1), Pablo Arrarte (ES; 3; guardsman), Willy Altadill (ES; 1; bow man, trimmer), Rob Greenhalgh (UK; 4 ; Guardsman); Blair Tuke (NZ; 0; helmsman, trimmer), Joan Vila (ES; 4; navigator), Támara Echegoyen (ES; 0), Antonio Cuervas-Mons (ES; 3; bowman, boatswain); Louis Sinclair (AG; 1), Neal McDonald (UK; 6; reserve).
  • Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag : David Witt (AU; 1; Skipper), Luke Parkinson (AU; 1), Ben Piggott (AU; 0; bow man), Steve Hayles (NZ; 5; Navigator), John Fisher (UK; 0 ), Tiger Mok (HK; 0), Alex Gough (AU; 0), Annemieke Bes (NL; 0), Tom Clout (AU; 0), António Fontes (PT; 0).
  • Turn the Tide on Plastic : Dee Caffari (UK; 1; Skipper), Liz Wardley (AU; 2; Boatswain), Annalize Murphy (IR; 0), Bleddyn Mon (UK; 0), Francesca Clapcich (IT; 0), Bernardo Freitas (PT; 0), Henry Bomby (UK; 0), Lucas Chapman (AU; 0), Frederico Pinheiro de Melo (PT; 0), Bianca Cook (NZ; 0), Martin Strömberg (SE; 3; guard leader , Helmsman, trimmer), Brian Thompson (UK; 1; from Auckland), Nicolas Lunven (FR; 1; navigator), Elodie-Jane Mettraux (CH; 0).
  • Vestas 11th hour racing : Charlie Enright (US; 1; Skipper), Damian Foxall (IR; 5), Simon Fisher (UK; 4; Navigator), Phil Harmer (AU; 4), Mark Towill (US; 1), Tony Mother (NZ; 5), Jena Mai Hansen (DK; 0), Hannah Diamond (UK; 0), Nick Dana (US; 2), Tom Johnson (AU; 0), Stacey Jackson (AU; 1).

As in earlier versions of the regatta, a reporter reports from each boat during the race. For the first time, the reporters were not provided by the teams, but by the organizer himself. One woman and nine men were selected from almost 10,000 applicants and trained in detail in Alicante. Her focus is on journalistic experience, whereas in the past mainly sailors were used as reporters. Together with a change of reporters between the boats, it is hoped for more extensive reporting.

Shortly before the first port regatta in Alicante, there were massive disputes over financing and salary payments between AkzoNobel and the skipper of the team, Simeon Tienpont, and his company Steam Ocean BV, in the course of which several participants resigned. The team had to start the regatta understaffed. The press saw Akzo Nobel's reputation as "massively damaged" and spoke of a "smear theater".

Regatta history

Stages

The high seas regatta led once around the world and was completed in stages. At around 45,000 nautical miles, it was 6,000 nm longer than before. The following ports are called:

Circuit races (referred to as “in-port races” by the organizers) were held in all ports except Melbourne. There was such a race in Guangzhou. The route from Hong Kong to Guangzhou and back is a ferry ride that is not part of the regatta.

Rating

The winner of a stage receives seven points, the second six, the third five, etc. Whoever has the most points at the end wins. For the South Pacific stages from Cape Town to Melbourne and from Auckland to Itajaí as well as for the North Atlantic crossing from Newport to Cardiff, there are double points. The winner of each stage receives a bonus point; likewise the leading boat on Cape Horn and the crew with the best overall sailing time. The results of the circuit races will only be used if there is a tie between two yachts at the end of the Volvo Ocean Race .

Race preparation: "Stage zero" and prologue

Participation in preparatory regattas precedes the Volvo Ocean Race . They are called " Leg Zero " by the organizer . There was a formal winner ( Mapfre ) for this stage , but this has no effect on the Volvo Ocean Race . The participants used these regattas to test the crew and then made changes to the crew. So had z. B. Turn the Tide on Plastic at the first regatta with the last-time winner Ian Walker on board. In addition, the start of the first stage was preceded by a prologue over 700 nm from Lisbon to Alicante at short notice. Here the participants already sailed with the intended racing crew.

The first of the preparatory regattas was the participation of the Volvo fleet in the Around the Island Race , held annually in August , which runs 50 nautical miles around the Isle of Wight . Mapfre achieved a start-to-finish victory on August 3, 2017 in 3 h 13 min. The remaining boats crossed the finish line within 16 minutes in the order Brunel , AkzoNobel , Dongfeng , Turn the Tide on Plastic , Vestas 11th Hour Racing and Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag , with the first four Volvo Ocean 65 all falling short of the previous record time for monohulls .

The next regatta was the Fastnet Race , which started on August 6, 2017. After 600 nautical miles, Dongfeng won with a time of 2 days, 15 hours, 38 minutes and 10 seconds. It was about 4 hours slower than the fastest monohull yacht, the Rambler 88 , on which Andrew Cape, a Volvo veteran sailed as navigator, who then hired Brunel . In the Volvo fleet was Mapfre with only 56 seconds behind second, then followed Brunel , AkzoNobel , Vestas 11th Hour Racing , Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag and the boat of Turn the Tide on Plastic , something over 39 minutes after Mapfre crossed the finish line .

The third preparatory regatta led from Plymouth north to a buoy in front of the Isle of Wight and from there across the English Channel to Saint-Malo . On August 11th, Mapfre won ahead of Brunel , Dongfeng , Vestas 11th Hour Racing , AkzoNobel , Turn the Tide on Plastic , and Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag . This sprint race was decided relatively at the beginning, when shortly after the start the field was divided into a southern part and a northern, more coastal part and the wind and tide conditions preferred the southern group. Mapfre managed to find a stronger breeze again after a weak wind zone .

The fourth preparatory race should lead from Saint-Malo to Lisbon . Due to weak winds, the race was split into a 25 nm part on August 13th and the rest of the route starting the next day, with the boats starting in the second part with the time intervals from the first part. This part was then shortened during the race due to lack of wind, so that the final score ( Vestas 11th Hour Racing , AkzoNobel , Mapfre , Dongfeng , Turn the Tide on Plastic , Brunel , Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag ) is a certain distance from the target , shortly previously announced date.

The ranking list for all preparatory regattas was: Mapfre , Dongfeng , Brunel , AkzoNobel , Vestas 11th Hour Racing , Turn the Tide on Plastic , Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag .

The prologue started on October 8th in Lisbon. So the transfer to Alicante, which was necessary anyway, should be designed as a race. Due to light winds, the target was pushed forward by approx. 130 nm to Cabo de Gata after four days . Mafpre won just ahead of Brunel , who had both opted for a coastal route between Cape Saint Vincent and the beginning of the Strait of Gibraltar and thus got through a lull zone faster than the rest of the fleet. AkzoNobel , Turn the Tide on Plastic , Vestas 11th Hour Racing , Dongfeng and Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag took the other places 2½ to 3 hours back .

First stage: Alicante - Lisbon

Circuit race

The Volvo Ocean Race started on October 14, 2017 with the circuit race off Alicante. Mapfre , who had opted for the right side of the close-hauled course at the start, found better wind conditions there and clearly won. Sung Hun Kai / Scallywag led the chasing field up to the first buoy, but then fell back to 5th place. Dongfeng , on the other hand, fought his way from the end of the field to second place. Vestas 11th Hour Racing narrowly defeated Brunel in the battle for third place. AkzoNobel , who sailed without the previous skipper Tienpont and was instead led by navigator Jules Salter, came second to last ahead of Turn the Tide on Plastic .

space team time Points
1 Mapfre 54:38 7th
2 Dongfeng 56:06 6th
3 Vestas 11th Hour Racing 56:54 5
4th Brunel 57:13 4th
5 Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag 58:07 3
6th AkzoNobel 58:31 2
7th Turn the tide on plastic 59:39 1


Ocean stage

The starting shot for the first deep sea stage was given on the afternoon of October 22nd. It led to Lisbon and was about 1,400 nm long because of a detour towards Madeira . Due to weather reasons, it was included in the program at short notice that the boats round Porto Santo in the Madeira archipelago . The aim was to avoid lull areas.

The following crews were on board (skipper and navigators at the beginning of the list); The AkzoNobel team looked significantly different than expected due to the sudden events shortly before the start :

AkzoNobel : Tienpont, Monson, Farrand, Sehested, Nagel, Grael, Molloy, Fontes, Konrad Frost (reporter)
Brunel : Bekking, Cape, Huisman, Bolzan, Langford, Cicchetti, Burling, Lush, Ehler, Martin Keruzoré (reporter)
Dongfeng : Caudrelier, Bidégorry, Bannatyne, Beyou, Wislang, Riou, Brouwer, Bouttell, Jinhao, Richard Edwards (reporter)
Mapfre : Fernández, Vila, Arrarte, Greenhalgh, Cuervas-Mons, Tuke, Altadill, Ciszek, Echegoyen, Ugo Fonollá (reporter)
Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag : Witt, Hayles, Gough, Bes, Piggott, J. Fisher, Parkinson, Clout, Jeremie Lecaudey (Reporter)
Turn the Tide on Plastic : Caffari, Lunven, Strömberg, Wardley, Murphy, Clapcich, Cook, Chapman , Mon, Freitas, Jen Edney (Reporter)
Vestas 11th Hour Racing : Enright, S. Fisher, Towill, Harmer, Dana, Johnson, Mutter, S. Jackson, Hansen, James Blake (Reporter)

Dongfeng was the first to come out of the circuit in front of Alicante, on which the boats under winds of almost 20 knots z. Some of them curved around spectator boats in slalom. Below 15 to 20 knots the fleet was pulling on a south-westerly course and cruising in easterly winds (the VOR 65s are on space sheet courses , i.e. with the wind from diagonally behind, significantly faster than with the wind directly from behind; therefore, in case of doubt, they have to take a zigzag course drive in front of the wind, so cross). The boats had to pass a virtual gate in front of Cabo de Gata , Spain , which forced them to be close to the Spanish coast halfway between Alicante and Gibraltar. The boats then headed south, as the current of the eddy in the Alborán Sea promised an advantage off the African coast . The vortex runs clockwise with a flow speed of up to 3 knots. The boats positioned themselves at different distances to the south, which pulled the fleet apart across the direction of the wind and resulted in different wind favors. The leadership changed several times during this phase. Ultimately, the boats in the north had better conditions and were able to take the lead. Vestas 11th Hour Racing crossed the Strait of Gibraltar half an hour ahead of AkzoNobel and about an hour ahead of the closely spaced remaining fleet.

The boats then followed the winds northward from the Strait of Gibraltar. Mapfre caught up in the fleet and took the lead about 36 hours after take-off. They succeeded in doing this without separating from the field across the wind, but rather because the boat speed was obviously slightly better. In the Atlantic, the fleet expanded and the boats pursued different strategies to drive through a low wind area on the way to Porto Santo. Mapfre chose the easternmost and northernmost variant, whereas Vestas 11th Hour Racing positioned itself westernmost and southernmost. This option turned out to be better because the wind picked up earlier in these regions and also allowed a more favorable angle and thus a faster journey to Porto Santo. About 100 nm off the island all boats were in line, with Vestas 11th Hour Racing still in the lead. Mapfre continued to show a slightly superior speed to its competitors as it managed to overtake the AkzoNobel in front of it .

After the turning mark Porto Santo, the participants could not set course for Lisbon directly because the race management, after consulting the teams, had added another turning mark 340 nm southwest of Lisbon. The reason for this was that the winds developed stronger than previously expected. A low west of Portugal remained surprisingly stationary. Due to the further turning mark, the course was extended so that the arrival in Lisbon fell on the busy Saturday afternoon. Vestas 11th Hour Racing rounded this turning point about 2¼ hours before Mapfre , followed 1½ hours later by AkzoNobel and then Dongfeng , Sung Hung Kai / Scallywag , Turn the Tide on Plastic and Brunel . The time intervals between boats 3 to 7 were 20 minutes to 1/2 hour each.

Incidents

On January 19, 2018, shortly before the end of the 4th leg from Melbourne to Hong Kong , the Vestas collided with a Chinese fishing vessel, killing a fisherman.

On March 26, 2018, it was reported that John Fisher, team member of the Sung Hun Kai / Scallywag , had gone overboard during a storm during the 7th leg between New Zealand and Brazil and could not be found again.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ volvooceanrace.com: A vision of the future. Retrieved November 13, 2015 .
  2. ↑ http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/news/9926_Everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-Assembly-Period.html
  3. ↑ New rating, more teams, more media. Retrieved June 21, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Pro women: chance instead of quota rule. Retrieved June 21, 2017 .
  5. ↑ "Turn the Tide on Plastic": Boat 6 for the Volvo Ocean Race. Retrieved June 21, 2017 .
  6. ↑ http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/news/9964_Everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-J0-sail.html
  7. ↑ Yacht.de: It will not be a purely men's business. Retrieved December 5, 2016 .
  8. ↑ Yacht.de: Caudreliers comeback with Dongfeng. Retrieved December 5, 2016 .
  9. ↑ VolvoOceanRace: Teams. Retrieved December 5, 2016 .
  10. ^ Yacht: German Ocean Racing Team. Retrieved November 13, 2015 .
  11. ↑ Boot.de: German sailing campaign for the Volvo Ocean Race 2017/2018. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on November 17, 2015 ; accessed on November 13, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.boot.de
  12. ↑ Team Structure germanoceanracingteam.com, accessed on April 17, 2019 (English)
  13. ↑ http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/news/9739_Meet-the-Onboard-Reporters.html
  14. ↑ http://sailingweekly.com/simeon-tienpont-not-giving-up-on-volvo-ocean-race-2/
  15. ↑ http://www.yacht.de/regatta/volvo_ocean_race/skipper-von-bord-skandal-im-team-akzonobel/a114258.html
  16. ↑ http://www.yacht.de/regatta/news/akzonobel-drama-tienpont-kaempft-jackson-uebernnahm/a114282.html
  17. ↑ https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/american-rome-kirby-joins-team-akzonobel-for-the-2017-18-volvo-ocean-race-300540191.html
  18. ↑ http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/news/10134_Tienpont-back-to-skipper-team-AkzoNobel-for-Leg-1.html
  19. ↑ Sebastian Reuter: A smear theater overshadows the Ocean Race. In: FAZ.net . October 22, 2017, accessed October 13, 2018 .
  20. ↑ On-board video can be seen at minute 0:39
  21. ↑ http://www.volvooceanrace.com/static/assets/content_v2/media/files/m45550_si-prologue-leg-addendum-2017-18-20170831-.pdf
  22. ↑ http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/news/9755_MAPFRE-blaze-to-record-victory-in-first-pre-Volvo-Ocean-Race-test.html#
  23. ↑ http://www.rolexfastnetrace.com/news/850-rambler-88-claims-monohull-line-honours
  24. ↑ http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/news/9829_Dongfeng-win-knife-edge-battle-with-MAPFRE-in-Rolex-Fastnet-Race.html
  25. ↑ http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/news/9846_MAPFRE-win-cross-channel-sprint-into-Saint-Malo-on-Leg-Zero.html
  26. ↑ http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/news/10090_Porto-Santo-rounding-for-Leg-One.html
  27. ↑ http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/news/10115_Leg-1-crew-lists.html >
  28. ↑ http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/news/10115_Updated-Leg-1-crew-lists.html
  29. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from October 23, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.teamakzonobel.com
  30. ↑ http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/news/10136_Intensity-and-action-as-the-Volvo-Ocean-Race-fleet-takes-the-Leg-1-start.html
  31. ↑ 'Deeply saddened' Volvo Ocean Race organizers supporting investigation into fatal Hong Kong crash as fisherman dies - South China Morning Post, January 20, 2018
  32. ↑ Fatality confirmed of fishing vessel crew member - Volvo Ocean Race, press release from January 20, 2018
  33. ^ Sailor in Round-the-World Race Is 'Lost at Sea' - New York Times, March 27, 2018