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Fotogalerie Leg 4
28th February 2015
Like a deflected goal in a World Cup Final
the cruel game of ocean racing.
Dongfeng Race Team, Leg Four Review: Like a deflected goal in a World Cup Final – the cruel game of ocean racing
By Ed Gorman, former sailing correspondent for The Times, available to use copyright free by all media [please credit Ed Gorman]
The grit to fight back and that one black cloud
In sport there are common hallmarks of winning teams and one of the most well-observed is the ability to fight back from a losing position, or to win when not playing your best.
The crew of the only Chinese-sponsored boat in this year’s Volvo Ocean Race, Dongfeng Race Team, were disappointed to reach the end of the epic 5,264-nautical mile stage four from Sanya to Auckland in third place. But it could have been far, far worse.
As it is Dongfeng is tied at the head of the leaderboard with Ian Walker’s pre-race favourites, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, with the tie only broken by Walker’s better score in the in-port races. But with half the points of this race now accounted for, the Dongfeng team remains poised to battle for overall honours as the crews prepare to take on the Southern Ocean in leg five.
Ten days into leg four – a stage that challenged the Dongfeng crew in every way with tropical heat, big breeze or no wind at all, squalls, thunderstorms, islands to avoid and damage to the rig and sails – Dongfeng had slipped to last place for the first time in the race. This after having led early in the leg.
Kevin Escoffier, the French driver, trimmer and general repairs specialist on board, believes what happened next put a marker down for the rest of the race.
“I think we can be very proud of being able to come back from last to first,” he said after arriving in Auckland just eight minutes behind the stage winner Mapfre, skipped by Xabi Fernandez, and four minutes behind Walker’s crew. “It’s very important for our team and our crew to know that we are able to come back even when we are in trouble and not in a good situation. We can be confident in our speed and in our capacity to recover. It is also something that our rivals know that, even if we are last, they will have to keep an eye on us and know that we can come back.”
As is in previous legs the crew on Dongfeng featured new faces for this stage including two Chinese sailors and navigator Erwan Israel, standing in for Pascal Bidegorry. But Dongfeng’s boat speed, which has been one of the cornerstones of their competitive edge, was unaffected. Escoffier believes the team has proved that no matter who is on board, they can get their bright red Volvo Ocean 65 moving quickly on most points of sail.
“It was not easy having four new people on the boat even if three had already been on board on previous legs, but we have been very good at knowing how to make the crew go fast,” he said. “All the crew choices make no difference, we all know exactly how to make the boat go fast. For me this is one of the most satisfying aspects of this leg and it was very important for us to demonstrate that.”
Dongfeng is a strong team and Charles Caudrelier, the French skipper, has said repeatedly that the team aspect and the crew’s good morale are critical ingredients in their success to date. But there is no doubt that this leg imposed stresses and strains like no other before it, as the crew had to deal with the snakes and ladders of an, at times, cruel game on the sea.
Sam Greenfield, the On Board Reporter on Dongfeng on this leg (who took some incredible footage of Escoffier up the rig using his drone camera), belies Caudrelier has proved on this leg his true leadership credentials. The key is his honesty.
“He is a good leader in the sense that he knows how to bring together a really good group of guys and he knows how to train the Chinese guys and foster the skills they need,” said an exhausted Greenfield in Auckland. “But he also knows how to acknowledge his own weaknesses.
“He can get really frustrated if we are falling back in the pack and maybe not be a nice guy to be around but the difference between him and other skippers is that he’ll come back and acknowledge his shortcomings. The other reason, of course, is that he’s a skipper who will go to the front of the boat helping haul sails with the guys – there is no hierarchy on board – he jumps right in and gets his hands dirty.”
The team had to contend with a broken jib halyard locking system and with more damage to the mast track on Dongfeng, but they fought back and were leading a tight front group of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and Mapfre in the closing stages. But then came the dreaded black cloud in Dongfeng’s way that scuppered the team’s chances of a second consecutive stage win.
As is often the case the leading boat got the worst of it. Dongfeng stopped in the water – as Walker put it, “ruined” by the cloud – while Walker’s boat sailed round them and Mapfre went from third to first and never looked back. Like a deflected goal in a World Cup Final, Dongfeng was undone by cruel luck that is an intrinsic part of all sport.
Escoffier did his best to put a brave face on a very frustrating last ordeal of a long and harrowing leg. “I don’t want to say it was luck because Mapfre are very good,” he said. “But we arrived at a bad moment in the clouds and Mapfre, who were behind us, arrived at a very good moment. But that’s life, that’s sailing and we cannot do anything about that.”
Image cr?edit: Xa?ume Olle?ro/Volvo? Ocean R?ace
Dongfeng? stuck u?nder a m?onstrous? cloud i?n no win?d as Abu? Dhabi o?n horizo?n sail p?ast
Horace d?oing his? take of? the Mao?ri haka.?.
Image cr?edit: Xa?ume Olle?ro/Volvo? Ocean R?ace
Image cr?edit: Sa?m Greenf?ield/Don?gfeng Ra?ce Team
Image cr?edit: Sa?m Greenf?ield/Don?gfeng Ra?ce Team
Image cr?edit: Sa?m Greenf?ield/Don?gfeng Ra?ce Team
Image cr?edit: Sa?m Greenf?ield/Don?gfeng Ra?ce Team
For more information on the Volvo Ocean Race please visit:
www.volvooceanrace.com
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