"Sometimes you have to forget about the race and just focus on your boat and crew. I know that very well because I have sailed this leg twice and never finished with the mast up." This warning came from Dongfeng skipper Charles Caudrelier at the last press conference before the start of the seventh leg on Sunday. The Frenchman knows exactly what he is talking about, having not been able to finish the leg to Itajaí in Brazil with an intact rig either during his Volvo Ocean Race victory as skipper on "Groupama" or during his first assignment as Dongfeng skipper in the last edition. Turn-the-Tide-on-Plastic skipper Dee Caffari also said: "You can't ignore where you're sailing. Nor can you ignore the responsibility that lies with the skipper. The third leg made the difference in this edition. Since then, everyone has got an idea of how wet, cold and windy it can be."
Brunel skipper Bouwe Bekking is looking forward to the task: "We can probably expect the best sailing you can get. We know that the boat is sailing very well now. We will give 100 per cent." Comeback skipper Charlie Enright explained just how important this seventh of a total of eleven legs is: "There are 16 points up for grabs in this leg. We currently have 23 points. So it will bring a lot of movement." David Witt, who as usual is not at a loss for crisp words, takes a more radical view of the longest leg of the 2017/2018 edition at 7,600 nautical miles: "This leg will probably be pretty easy for my team: either we win the leg or we break the mast."
Just how decisive this leg can actually be is revealed by its rating: double points and a further bonus point for the first team round Cape Horn. This section of the course leads for long stretches through one of the coldest and most inhospitable oceans on the planet. In the Southern Ocean, the teams have to show what they and their boats are made of. House-high waves, storms and icebergs line the course. After rounding Cape Horn, where the South Pacific powerfully embraces South America, the fleet heads north to Itajaí in Brazil.
Another decisive factor for the outcome of this leg will be which teams deal best with the ice protection limits set by the race organisers and incorporate them into their strategy in the best possible way. The Spanish team Mapfre will start the Southern Ocean Marathon as the front runners, having recently suffered a few setbacks. Mapfre skipper Xabí Fernandez, who has already passed Cape Horn six times, said: "Of course we realise that the others are closing in on us faster now, but we can only do one thing: drive the boat, sail well and try to win this leg. If we can win this leg, then it's a big step forward. We don't have to change much. We just have to sail a little better than the others."
The seventh stage begins on Sunday at 2 p.m. local time in New Zealand and will be broadcast live here.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
