Volvo fleet leaves Gothenburg for tense last leg
Dutch skipper Bekking seeks elusive victory
GOTHENBURG, Sweden, June 21, (Agencies): The Volvo Ocean Race set off on the last leg of its round-the-world odyssey on Thursday with three boats effectively tied for the lead.
The 700-kilometre “sprint” to the Hague starts with Spanish boat Mapfre and the Dutch Team Brunel tied on 65 points. Chinese entry Dongfeng is a point behind but, unless it finishes more than 20 hours behind Brunel, will collect an additional bonus point for best overall elapsed time.
American boat Vestas led the fleet out of the harbour, closely followed by Dongfeng with Brunel and Mapfre at the back of the sevenstrong
“We will have quite variable conditions, we will have some wind at the beginning and it may be calmer at the end,” said Joan Vila, one of the Mapfre crew. “There will be some headwind and a lot of forbidden areas because of the oil rigs. There’s a lot of work to do.”
Standings (after 10 stages): 1. Mapfre (ESP) 65 pts; 2. Team Brunel (NED) 65; 3. Dongfeng Race Team (CHN) 64; 4. Team AkzoNobel (NED) 53; 5. Vestas 11th Hour Racing (USA/ DEN) 38; 6. Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag (HKG) 30; 7. Turn the Tide on Plastic (ONU) 29.
Meanwhile, Bouwe Bekking has sailed more than 300,000 nautical miles during the last 33 years and circled the globe nearly eight times trying to win the Volvo Ocean Race.
After seven unsuccessful attempts, that elusive victory is just 700 nautical miles away if the Dutch skipper can place Team Brunel ahead of MAPFRE and Dongfeng Race Team on the round-the-world race’s final leg, a sprint from Gothenburg, Sweden, to The Hague, Netherlands.
It would be a popular victory, for sure, if the
Bekking
55-year-old Bekking sails into his home country ahead of MAPFRE and Dongfeng, the only other teams that can win the bluewater classic.
“Of course it’s exciting that the prospect is there,” Bekking said in a phone interview ahead of the start of Leg 11 on Thursday. “A lot of strange things have happened. The good thing is, I believe we can win. We still have to perform, but if you don’t believe you can win, you shouldn’t start.”
No one has sailed more miles in Volvo Ocean Race history than Bekking, and no edition of the race has come down to a finish like this.
After more than 44,000 miles of sailing, MAPFRE and Team Brunel are tied with 65 points. Dongfeng Race Team has 64 points, but if it finishes ahead of MAPFRE and Team Brunel, it will be positioned to receive a bonus point for the shortest elapsed time around the world. That effectively has created a three-way tie going into the last leg.
Bekking is this close to finally winning the marquee offshore race because he’s led Team Brunel from a slow start to winning three of the last four legs, plus a second-place finish.
Team Brunel was sixth in the seven-boat boat fleet after Leg 6 from Hong Kong to Auckland, New Zealand.
“I’m always a leader that gives a lot of freedom. At Auckland, I had to step up like a schoolmaster, and it all started coming together,” Bekking said. The start of Leg 11 at the Volvo Ocean Race in Gothenburg, Sweden, is pictured on June 21.
Leg 11 is the final leg of the race before the finish in The Hague, Netherlands. (AFP)