The 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race Was Decided Just Seven Miles From the Finish. Helen Fretter Finds Out How Dongfeng Took a Cliffhanger Victory
As one, they roared. And then, amid the chaos of the finish line, there was a moment of pause. Skipper Charles Caudrelier briefly let go of the wheel and threw his hands to his head incredulously. All around him the Dongfeng crew were hugging, wordless in disbelief. Dongfeng Race
Team had won the Volvo Ocean Race. Tears flowed freely. Caudrelier said afterwards that it was the first time he had ever cried over a race. Navigator Pascal Bidégorry’s eyes were red raw with emotion and exhaustion. Because this was no straightforward round the world race win. In an unprecedented scenario, the overall victory of the Volvo Ocean Race, a 10-month 45,000-mile epic, was not conclusively decided until the final cross just seven miles from the finish. It was the closest race the event has ever seen and in the end it largely came down to a single, smart, but audacious navigation call.
For Dongfeng Race Team, victory on 24 June 2018 was the culmination of a five-year, two-race campaign. The Chinese-French team was brought together ahead of the last edition (largely by former VOR and Offshore Challenges boss Mark Turner) with a complex set of aims – to race with Chinese sailors, to create national heroes in a nation with no tradition of offshore sailing, and of course, to be competitive.
It was successful on many fronts and was 3rd overall. But to create true national heroes you need to win something. Britons may love an underdog. The French may love the romance of navigateurs sailing off in search of a dream. But China loves a winner. To turn the Dongfeng sailors into stars, they needed to win the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race.
Team boss Bruno Dubois went back to the motoring company and presented Dongfeng with various options for the 2017-18 race. They opted for the set-up that would give the best chance of coming first: a single international team, with the cream of the Chinese crew aboard.
Esta historia es de la edición August 2018 de Yachting World.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición August 2018 de Yachting World.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
5 EXPERT TIPS BOB BEGGS ON SAILING IN COLD WEATHER
As temperatures drop, Andy Rice gets tips on how to handle the cold from self-confessed Arctic weather fan and winning Clipper Round the World Race skipper Bob Beggs
SPECIAL REPORT EXTENDED CRUISING IN THE BALTIC
Sweden offers cruisers a warm welcome for winter - Janneke Kuysters has advice on how to boost your sailing time in the region
NIKKI HENDERSON
SEARCHING FOR MORE SPEED? BEFORE TINKERING WITH TINY ADJUSTMENTS, MAKE SURE YOU'VE GOT THE BASICS RIGHT THE POWER DRIVING THE BOAT
MATTHEW SHEAHAN
WHAT WILL THE BOATS OF THE 38TH AMERICA'S CUP LOOK LIKE? THAT'S THE $20 MILLION QUESTION IF BRITAIN OR NEW ZEALAND DECIDE TO DEPART FROM THE AC75
60-knot squalls hit Middle Sea Race
The 45th running of the Mediterranean offshore, the Rolex Middle Sea Race, saw a spectacularly random mix of conditions - even for a race which is famed for its variable weather patterns.
Italy win first Women's Cup
The first ever Women's America's Cup was won by Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli after a single, twoboat shoot-out final on 12 October.
'Three-peat' for ETNZ
As Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand came into this year's 37th America's Cup as clear favourites. But the Kiwi camp has far more than just the structural advantage of being the ones that wrote the Protocol for the competition, and the originators of the AC75 concept.
ROOM WITH A VIEW
SWEDISH DESIGNER GABRIEL HEYMAN POURED A LIFETIME OF IDEAS INTO THIS PILOT SALOON CRUISER, WHICH INCLUDES ARGUABLY THE LARGEST COCKPIT AVAILABLE AT THIS SIZE
LIVING HISTORY
THE ICONIC SEASON-CLOSING REGATTA LES VOILES DE SAINT TROPEZ WAS AN IMMERSIVE HISTORY LESSON FOR CROSBIE LORIMER
CHANGE OF PLAN
LEAVING AUSTRALIA, MARIANNE URTH NEVER PLANNED TO MAKE LANDFALL IN THE ISLANDS OF VANUATU, BUT THE EXPERIENCE WAS MAGICAL