Volvo Ocean Race: Attack off Alicante: spectacular chase scenes at the start

Fantastic images, position changes in series and speeding boats made the live broadcast of the start of the 13th edition of the Volvo Ocean Race a real treat for sailing fans. Rarely has the start of a regatta been so well staged. The seven teams in an attacking mood had just as much to do with this as the huge fleet of spectators off Alicante, some of whom had transformed the course into a challenging obstacle course.

Outsider Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag with Australian skipper David Witt initially got off to the best start, but the co-favoured teams Mapfre and Dongfeng quickly made it clear who wanted to call the shots in this race around the world. Bouwe Bekking's experienced team Brunel also recovered quickly from the not entirely successful start. And soon this red-red-yellow trio could be seen jostling for position at the front of the fleet.

But not for very long, because the Dongfeng skipper Charles Caudrelier, known for his furious sailing style, used an opportunity to attack, forcing his two rivals Mapfre and Brunel to swerve in a three-way battle, which the referees on the water deemed not to be in accordance with the rules. Three quarters of an hour after the starting signal, the first penalties were imposed in the still young race. Both Mapfre and Brunel had to clean up and initially dropped back.

There were also some thrilling scenes in the midfield. For example, a duel between Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag and Dee Caffari's Team Turn the Tide on Plastic. The only female skipper in the fleet with six other male rivals chased the Australian and his crew under Hong Kong's flag so consistently and zigzagged through the lined-up spectator boats that observers forgot to breathe for a moment. Around two hours after the start, Dongfeng was in a commanding lead. Behind them, the Spanish team Mapfre with skipper Xabi Fernandez, which was once again coming on strong, had already worked its way up to an attack position. Dee Caffari's young mixed team was surprisingly in third place, while Team Brunel tried to make up ground after the setback - around three hours after the start at a speed of 19.5 knots, the fastest in the entire fleet.

The fact that Simeon Tienpont and his Dutch team AkzoNobel were initially only in last place should hardly surprise anyone after the dramas of the last few days. 24 hours before the start, the Dutchman was still fighting for his comeback in front of the arbitration tribunal in his home country. Four experienced crew members, including interim skipper Brad Jackson, had subsequently decided against taking part in the first leg. Tienpont therefore had to compete with his remaining loyal co-sailors and substitutes.

In a press release published by Team AkzoNobel seven minutes before the starting signal, Tienpont said about his team's emotional rollercoaster ride over the past few days (YACHT online reported): "This has obviously been an incredibly tough time for everyone involved. Personally, I'm relieved to finally be back with my team and to be able to get going with our Volvo Ocean Race campaign." Tienpont also thanked those who have now refused to follow him for this first leg. Foreship crew Brad Farrand (New Zealand), Martine Grael (Brazil), Luke Molloy (Australia), Emily Nagel (Bermuda) and Nicolai Sehested (Denmark) have remained loyal to him. Spontaneous replacements were added: Navigator Ross Monson (Great Britain) and Antonio Fontes (Portugal). Fontes came - with explicit thanks from Simeon Tienpont to David Witt and his team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag - spontaneously as a "loan" from the opposing team. A fair gesture by the Australian skipper and warhorse towards the Dutchman with his back to the wall, who was able to start with eight instead of the planned nine crew members.