Fotogalerie Leg 2>
24th November 2014
Stop for a second and think,
what were you doing at 21 years old?
Most of you were probably studying at university, or even settling down into your first office job? Your worries and concerns perhaps centered around money, deadlines or plans for the evening with your friends. Even if you were a sailor, and one inclined to head out to sea rather than around an Olympic triangle (for non sailors, this is a short Olympic course in sight of land), you were probably tackling your first offshore races, across the English Channel, or a Sydney-Hobart, depending on where you are in the world.
Maybe that’s a little stereotypical, but either way, not many of you would have imagined competing in one of the toughest ocean races in the world just as you entered your twenties! And with a crew who don’t speak your language. And between countries, and across oceans, you had hardly heard of!
‘I think I was too young. I was not even imagining that I would be able to do the Volvo Ocean Race’ – Kevin Escoffier.
“My name is Liu Xue (Black), I am 21 years old and this is my first offshore race in my life!”
It is now time for you to really get to know Liu Xue, aka Black, from Qingdao, China and the third Chinese crew member to step onboard Dongfeng during this Volvo Ocean Race.
Want to know how he is getting on so far? Check out the video of Black just sent back from onboard Dongfeng here
‘We are asking a lot of this guy, he is very young…’ – Martin Strömberg
Submerged into a new culture, new language and new adventure, it would seem as though this young sailor has been thrown in at the deep end. Phased? It doesn’t seem like it…
‘I am a little bit excited. Well, I’m very excited but I try not to be, I don’t want to be distracted, I want to be focused, I try to stay level. So I’m only a little bit excited, not a lot!”
‘My Chinese sailors are not passengers on this boat’ [Charles Caudrelier at Cape Town pre-leg 2 press conference]
Black is tasked with looking after the ‘pit’ in the cockpit of the boat where most of the control lines for changing sails lead. Responsible for controlling all the halyards and lines to the sails, it will be no easy task for Black, but the crew onboard Dongfeng don’t doubt his capabilities for a second…
Taken under their wing!
‘We Chinese only have little experience so the others they help us. They have helped my mentality and now I’m ready.” – Black
Charles Caudrelier and the rest of the crew were bombarded with the same questions prior to departure; will Black be a compromise to performance, how do you feel about having a rookie onboard, why change now when Wolf was gaining in experience? Well, for sure the best solution for pure performance might have been to keep the same crew, who already have more Volvo Ocean 65 Race experience than the rest of China put together. But this project is more than just racing to win – its about sharing, educating, motivating and developing the future talent in Chinese sailing. About putting ocean racing on the map in China. And for that we need to get more than just two sailors around the world. But Black in any case had made the grade according to his skipper.
Every crew member replied with a similar positive response and a smile that highlighted the respect and confidence they all had in Black. Whether they were 24 or 46, Swedish, French or Chinese, it was obvious that not a single crew member even doubted him for a second and had already taken him under their wing.
A small setback!
Despite his undeniable enthusiasm and motivation, the journey hasn’t always been plain sailing for Black! Thrown into this new environment at such a young age would lead many of us to question whether we were doing the right thing, with Black left feeling a little uneasy after the first offshore training event with Dongfeng Race Team – a couple of thousand miles in the Pacific Ocean, notionally heading towards Auckland from Sanya, China last March.
‘After the first few days I felt a bit confused – there was no competition and suddenly I could not figure out what the objective or goal was for the training!’ commented Black as he looks back to when he left the team in March 2014.
But he couldn’t stay away for long; ‘I started to miss the team, miss my teammates and miss all the difficulties we have been through together. Also, this is the Volvo Ocean Race – a really rare opportunity – and I am ready to participate in the race. I can do it – I believe in myself!’
The team obviously believed in him too, with navigator, Pascal Bidégorry, realizing Black’s potential and warning him he was making a mistake if he left the campaign.
‘When Black came back he reached out to us only through Pascal, these things just happen, friendships form and this is a unique one. Who knows? Maybe if it wasn’t’ for Pascal, Black wouldn’t be with us today’ suggests Caudrelier.
A big family
Stepping away from the race and seeing the wider picture has only served to make Black more motivated and determined, whilst illustrating how much this young man has matured and adapted since the start of the project.
Now, through the help of his teammates, Black claims he is no longer scared of anything and ready to take on the adventure with the rest of the team; ‘the team is a big family, we eat together, sleep together, we talk about everything on the boat, we are like brothers. Well…maybe Pascal is like a father!’
Understanding what it takes to be a Volvo Ocean Race sailor, it is now time for Black to prove he is made of the right material; ‘A Volvo Ocean Race sailor should be a team player, should be determined in mind with a strong body and should know and understand the boat. They should be prepared to confront any problems that may occur instead of trying to escape or turn away.”
We are watching Black, and we are all behind you!
© Yann Riou / dongfeng race team
© Charlie Shoemaker/volvo ocean race
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