The first 30 hours of the sixth leg have been completed. Bouwe Bekking's Team Brunel has taken the lead with new sails and appears more light-footed than in the previous stages. The crew on the yellow boat has built up a three nautical mile lead over the teams leading the overall classification, Dongfeng and Mapfre. Bekking summarised the start phase of this 6100 nautical mile leg from Hong Kong to Auckland as follows: "After we had sailed well around the restricted areas off Hong Kong, things went very well for us. We quickly found ourselves at the front of the fleet, but then suddenly became super slow. We lost half a mile in the blink of an eye. The reason for this was a huge plastic bag on the rudder. We actually had to make two tacks to get rid of it, losing even more distance in the process. After that, however, we were able to slowly extend our lead again. It was pretty rough in winds of around 30 knots. It rained almost all night. Then there was all the spray on deck. It was uncomfortable. Sally is a bit seasick. I sent her below deck because we're not too busy trimming at the moment. We're sailing towards the southern tip of Taiwan. Then we'll tack and set a northerly course. This means more upwind sailing and sailing away from New Zealand. We assume that all teams will do the same, because the race organisers have set up a huge exclusion zone. This will prevent the very small chance of a tropical cyclone developing."
Here is a summary of the start of the sixth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race in Hong Kong on Wednesday
Meanwhile, Sophie Ciszek - who won the Hans Horrevoets Rookie Award as a crew member of the SCA women's team in the last edition of the Volvo Ocean Race - gave a short interview on board the Spanish chasers. The 32-year-old Australian, who also holds an American passport, is recognised as an outstanding surfer and has already raced in professional teams on boats such as "Wildthing", "Brindabella" and "Shockwave". When asked how she mentally prepares for heavy weather conditions, Ciszek said: "I always prepare for the worst possible scenario. If the forecast predicts 40 knots of wind, then I assume 50 knots, with huge waves. I paint a nasty picture in my head of really violent conditions. Then I feel prepared." What inspires the fighter at sea and motivates her missions? "When I'm sailing and I can't see land, that feeling out there in the middle of the ocean... You forget the madness of the world. I like that very much. It's a feeling that I don't have on land. It only comes when you're sailing away and surrounded by the sea."
Jerémie Lecauday, the onboard reporter for the fourth-placed team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag, provided in-depth insights into everyday life on board. Under the heading "The life of a sailor", the Frenchman wrote: "It's 5 o'clock in the evening. You're in the office, quickly finishing off a few things so that you can get home as early as possible. Then your mobile phone rings. It's David Witt calling. You think: F***, it's Wittey. It must be important. You pick up the phone. Your name is Marcus Ashley Jones. A few hours later, you're on a plane to Hong Kong, ready for leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race. Just like that." The next paragraph of Lecauday's logbook entry explains the last-minute manoeuvre: "It's 10am the day before the start of the sixth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. You've just won the last leg. You are excited, go to the boat early and prepare everything for a test sail with the J1 in the bay. A line catches you as you cast off. That's it for the sixth leg. You're Grant Wharington - and you'll be back soon."
Lecauday dedicates the last paragraph of his message to his skipper: "The start day has arrived. You are David Witt. Something unusual has happened to either your boat or your crew on each of the legs so far. You're 53 years old, you've seen worse, and more will follow. The first thing you say to your crew when you cast off? 'We are the Scallywags! We're going to win this leg!' The answer to that will come in about 20 days in Auckland. Stay tuned."
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
