Volvo Ocean Race: Brilliant start by Team Brunel

A dream start for Bouwe Bekking's Team Brunel in the twelfth edition of the Volvo Ocean Race since 1973: the international crew flying the Dutch flag set the highlights at the start of the first leg from Alicante to Cape Town. Bekking's crew with top navigator Andrew Cape started completely downwind with a clear wind and the shortest route to the first turning mark, controlling the fleet of seven VO70 yachts with 66 sailors in this initial phase with aplomb.

The women's team on the Swedish "SCA" provided a positive surprise at the start, holding on to second position for almost half an hour after a successful start before Ian Walker's Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing team overtook them first. Meanwhile, the Danish team Vestas made a major blunder. Skipper Chris Nicholson's crew had to return to the start line after a false start and were only then able to take up the chase. Even before the start, skipper Chris Nicholson had said that the most important task for his last-minute team was not to lose contact with the fleet: "We have to learn, learn, learn."

Tens of thousands of fans had previously seen off the circumnavigators in the starting harbour of Alicante and witnessed some emblematic moments. On the water, more than a thousand spectator boats lined the start corridor and made the water foam up. The fans were able to watch as the fleet formed up after the first two sprint laps according to the forecasts. At the front, the top favourites Team Brunel, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and the Spanish Team Mapfre fought an exciting three-way battle, while the women made life difficult for themselves with too many sail changes and unfortunate positioning and were passed backwards boat by boat.

As the yachts rounded the last turning mark of the two opening laps and set course for the open Mediterranean and Gibraltar, Team Brunel was still just ahead of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and Mapfre. The first close battles on the water in the afternoon gave an idea of how exciting this race with the boats of the new one-design class could be. On board several yachts, including Abu Dhabi and Mapfre, the crews had problems with their headsails in light winds of around six to ten knots. With the gennaker and code zero set at the same time, Team SCA with British skipper Samantha Davies even dropped back to last place.

The coming days will demand concentration and effective manoeuvres from the crews in light and shifty winds. Dutch skipper Bouwe Bekking is sailing on a record course in this edition of the race around the globe. The 51-year-old has started his seventh Volvo Ocean Race and has now equalled the previous Swedish record holder, Roger Nilson, who is the only sailor to have sailed the race seven times. The start of what will probably be his last attempt to finally win the race of his life has gone according to plan. Ahead of the crews lies the 6487 nautical mile first leg to Cape Town, the second longest leg of the ocean marathon totalling 38739 nautical miles. The fleet is expected to arrive in Cape Town within 23 to 27 days. The most famous team race around the world ends in Gothenburg on 27 June 2015.