Volvo Ocean Race: Bouwe Bekking ahead of the European final: "It's now or never"

After the first stages of the 13th edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, many would not have thought the current development in the Volvo Ocean Race possible: Bouwe Bekking's Dutch team Brunel had made a weak start to the current race around the world - the boat was too slow, the results too inconsistent and too mediocre. The team with the experienced navigator Andrew Cape and the America's Cup stars Peter Burling, Kyle Langford, Carlo Huisman and Co. simply couldn't get going.

But now the experienced record participant Bekking and his team not only have their boat under control in the final phase of the race, but have apparently also switched on the turbo and have recently been rushing from success to success. Their record on the last three legs: 1-2-1. And the second place in Newport could even have been a first if the team on the yellow boat hadn't fallen into a doldrums trap just before the finish line and been overtaken by Mapfre in the style of a dust-off goal. Brunel's late surge has now left the competition nibbling away, especially the two previously dominant teams on the red boats of Dongfeng and Mapfre. Volvo Ocean Race Manager Johan Salén says: "This is a fantastic scenario for the finale. And a little easier for Brunel. The Dutch have nothing to lose, but everything to gain. The pressure is much higher for the red boats."

However, Charles Caudrelier's Dongfeng Race Team (60 points) still leads the overall standings of the ocean marathon after nine of the eleven stages, ahead of Mapfre (59 points) and Team Brunel (57 points), which has come on strong. The fleet still has two challenging European tracks to complete. And not to forget: Before a team's better position in the harbour race ranking decides the overall victory in the event of a tie, a bonus point will be added for the shortest total sailing time around the world. Even Bouwe Bekking is quite sure that the Dongfeng Race Team will take this. The competition is therefore already counting this point on the account of the red yacht flying the Chinese flag in their planning games. After all, Dongfeng has only needed 118 days, 14 hours, 53 minutes and 22 seconds to complete the nine legs and around 40,000 nautical miles so far. Brunel is in second place in this special ranking with 119 days, 10 hours, 31 minutes and 10 seconds, with Mapfre in third place almost four days behind. The gaps can hardly be equalised on the upcoming short stages.

"We simply have to keep beating them on the remaining stages, because equal points won't be enough in the end," says Bouwe Bekking, whose team is only in third place in the harbour race standings with 36 points and can hardly catch up with the leading Dongfeng Race Team. Nevertheless, the battle for overall victory does not appear to be a hopeless endeavour after the recent successes: The Dutch team is only three points off the lead in the overall standings. In Holland, fans are cheering on the reinvigorated Team Brunel, "it's now or never!" wrote one fan on Bekking's Facebook page. The Dutchman's wife commented cheerfully on the post: "Exactly, Bouwe, it's now or never." What she means is that this could be the last time the Danish-based Volvo Ocean Race veteran will race in his life. The man, who will celebrate his 55th birthday in nine days' time on the day of the harbour race in the upcoming stage port of Gothenburg, is overdue for the overall victory he has been chasing since his first outing on "Philips Innovator" in 1985 and 1986.

It took a while "until we got going as a late-starting team," says the boss on board. "It took our new people a while to familiarise themselves with ocean sailing. It took more time than I thought. On the other hand, I've learnt an incredible amount from them in the meantime. And they push..." A look at Brunel's current sailing wardrobe also makes Bekking happy: "We got three new Genuas in Newport. We only used them during the inshore race and at the start of the leg to Cardiff, so they are as good as new. Our mainsail is also in very good condition. And the new A3 is still to come. I think we are in a better position than the others. Most of them changed their sails in Auckland or Itajaì."

Here, fans can calculate the final two stages with the possible points for their favourite teams. Who needs how many points and which scenarios for the overall victory? Simply use the Calculator question. Before that, the Cardiff harbour race is scheduled for Friday before the 1300 nautical mile course to Gothenburg on Sunday.