45,000 nautical miles, 12 legs, 11 harbours, 8 months and 7 teams: that's the Volvo Ocean Race 2017/18 in figures. The starting signal for the first leg of the 13th edition of the most famous ocean marathon for sailing teams will be given on Sunday at 2 pm in the Spanish harbour city of Alicante and will be broadcast live on the Homepage of the organisers broadcast. On Friday, the skippers met in Alicante for the last big press conference.
Team Brunel's skipper and record participant Bouwe Bekking uttered the unifying sentence: "We all want to win. That's what we're here for." Bekking, who lived in Hamburg for many years and worked for a number of German owners, is starting the race of his life for the eighth time and is leading an interestingly combined team into the field. In addition to the vast experience that he himself and his experienced navigator Andrew Cape (six participations) bring with them, prominent America's Cup stars and Olympians are on board, above all the New Zealander Peter Burling.
Two days before the start of the first leg on 2 October, the skippers answered questions in Alicante
Bekking explains: "We were late with our campaign, but that also gave us opportunities. The America's Cup had just finished when I was sailing with the J-Class off Bermuda. I stumbled across Carlo Huisman, who had sailed the America's Cup with Team New Zealand. Through him I came into contact with Peter Burling. We had a very good chat. And a short time later we had the 'Golden Boy' on board, who had probably already been approached by several other projects. He won the Olympic Games and the America's Cup. We also have Kyle Langford, who also won the Cup twice before losing it to New Zealand." According to Bekking, Burling, Huisman and Langford have a different approach compared to them, the "old school boys": "They act with great intensity, bring new ideas to the table. We then discard them or implement them. With them, it's all about performance." Bekking made it clear: "We have a good chance of winning this race."
However, the top favourite is skipper Xabi Fernandez's team Mapfre. Mapfre is the tenth time a Spanish team has started the race around the world - but never before has a Spanish team won. Fernandez said: "Of course we realise that people see us as favourites. But that doesn't matter to us. We have prepared very well. But we also know how long and tough this race is."
In addition to Mapfre and Brunel, Charles Caudrelier's Dongfeng Race Team is also considered one of the favourites. The Frenchman has already won the race once as a crew member on "Groupama" and impressed with strong performances as the new skipper in the last edition. He says: "When you're a skipper, the pressure never lets up. But I like that. I have a strong team around me. I'm a happy skipper."
David Witt provided one of the more cheerful notes of the press conference. The skipper of the underdog team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag, who is never at a loss for words, said when asked why he was taking part in this race: "I think it's the best team sport in the world. I got a good commercial offer. And I haven't found a better way to lose weight."
The only female skipper in the race, Britain's solo sailing institution Dee Caffari, who will lead a team of 50 per cent men and 50 per cent women around the world and had already circumnavigated the planet three times single-handed before joining the last Volvo edition with SCA, said: "It makes a big difference whether you sail around the world alone or with a team. With a team, you can share everything and have more hands when something is going on. The intensity in a team motivates me. And the awareness that you are giving 100 per cent at all times. The guys here(Editor: Caffari looks at her male competitors on the podium at the press conference) will punish every mistake you make. This intensity attracts me. Everyone talks about Turn the Tide on Plastic as an inexperienced team. It's true that many of my sailors are taking part for the first time. But they are very experienced sailors and know how to make a boat fast."
AkzoNobel's new New Zealand skipper Brad Jackson said after a dramatic few days in the team and the temporary replacement of skipper Simeon Tienpont: "I took on the role because it was necessary. It wasn't a dream of mine to become skipper, I had no desire to do so. But the situation has arisen and I'm happy to accept it. I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't had the full support of the sailing team, the shore crew and our partner." Charlie Enright, American skipper for Vestas 11th Hour Racing, said: "For the last edition, youth was our thing. This time we've added experience. Nobody starts this race to finish fourth. Neither do we."
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
