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ALICANTE, Spain, Oct 24
Dongfeng crosses the Equator at 0845 UTC
Image cr?edit: Ya?nn Riou ?/ Dongfe?ng Race ?Team
Days at sea: 13
Boat speed: 19 knots
Position in fleet: 4th
Distance to leader (Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing): 128 nautical miles
Distance to waypoint Fernando de Noronha: approx. 147 miles (mandatory course mark)
Distance to finish: 3,528 nautical miles
Weather from here to there? Upwind, boat heeled, wet on deck (too wet to open front hatch and let air through), hot below decks still, bumpy ride, not easy to relax onboard – and going to stay like this for 4 or more days with no real prospect of catching the guys in front as everyone is straight lining in same conditions.
All positive energy welcome to the determined men of Dongfeng, who are admittedly feeling a bit down right now – send a message to messageofsupport@dongfengraceteam.com
The Hollywood saying goes ‘never let the truth get in the way of a good story’… For the crew of Dongfeng today’s true story on board meant the prepared script had to be torn-up – totally. The guys are fed up after the pain of the Doldrums and it is moments like these we realise we can sometimes be far from understanding how difficult things can occasionally get onboard. Like the Volvo Ocean Race we had this grand ‘moment’ prepared for when our team crossed the equator, especially for our first-timers, Chinese sailors Jin Hao Chen and Yang Jiru and French sailors Eric Peron and Thomas Rouxel. We always knew this race would bring a number of emotions and right now it turns out that, at the grand moment of crossing the equator, despite everyone’s best laid plans, the emotion onboard Dongfeng is that of ‘when you just don’t give a *.’
It’s been a rough week for Dongfeng. The team considered the ‘underdogs’ of the Volvo Ocean Race have gone from (much to everyone’s surprise!) leading the fleet for several days into the Atlantic to breaking a rudder, to replacing the rudder, to leading once more only to get stuck in the Doldrums and watch their competitors fly by – on both sides of them, east and west. Now currently in 4th place they know with a drag race to Brazil, there is little chance of catching the top 3 – and they have 3 other boats hunting them from behind. So whilst a 4th place pre-race would have felt like a good place to be on leg 1 – their time at the front has accentuated their feeling of being down after being ‘detained’ by the Doldrums for so long!
Aware that it’s all part and parcel of the game Eric Peron explains: “Gutted to be in 4th position, unfortunately I don’t think we could have done it any different. The others are 150 miles ahead now, but now we’re finally out of the Doldrums we’re back on it. As long as the other 3 teams stay behind we should be OK. We’re just dealing with it right now."
Whereas another email shortly afterward from Onboard Reporter Yann Riou said “In reality… Difficult conditions to live. Lot of heel, lots of spray. Guys are tired. They do their watch and they go to sleep. No real good place to sit down and eat. We have just passed the equator – looks like the guys could not care less…”
A small surprise
At the start of the Volvo Ocean Race in Alicante a small envelope was hidden onboard Dongfeng with a video on a USB from the sailors’ friends, families and teammates each leaving an individual message of encouragement. Just before entering the Doldrums the team watched it and their reactions are well worth watching! Watch the video here
Video
You can follow our story and interact with the team on all social media channels and our official website:
For more information on the Volvo Ocean Race please visit:
www.volvooceanrace.com
For Images please visit:
Volvo Ocean Race Image Bank
www.dongfengraceteam.com/partners
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