Volvo Ocean Race: Solo with ladies: Hong Kong team on course for victory

His many pithy remarks will never be forgotten. With comments such as "There's no room for women on board" or "We're not prepared to be part of this social experiment", skipper David Witt made his criticism of the new regulations in favour of more women in the race more than clear before the start of the 13th edition of the Volvo Ocean Race. His team, Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag, did not initially take advantage of the opportunity to take up to two female sailors with seven male crew members. When the Dutchwoman Annemieke Bes left the AkzoNobel team in the personnel chaos, Witt immediately secured her services and affirmed that she, the Olympic silver medallist, would be a good fit for the team: "We didn't speak to any other female sailor. We wanted her." Witt and Bes had already sailed together on "Ragamuffin" before the Volvo Ocean Race. Which proves, among other things, that Witt is far less macho than he likes to pretend in public.

In the clip from on board, skipper David Witt talks about his team and how quickly Libby Greenhalgh has fitted in. The navigators also have their say

When Witt and his British navigator Steve Hayles came under fire for a video produced on leg 2 and a fan lodged a complaint with the World Sailing Federation due to a possible violation of Rule 69, both had to appear before an independent international jury in Cape Town. However, both were acquitted of the accusations and, according to the jury's decision, neither acted in an offensive manner nor brought the sport of sailing as a whole into disrepute.

The subject of the video, entitled "The Steve Hayles Breakfast Show", was a parody of a phone call. In it, David Witt makes fun of some crew members, including John Fisher, who appears wearing a face mask in the style of the "movie man-eater" Hannibal Lector. Annemieke Bes is then invited onto the show as "Doctor Wooden Shoe" and asked for her advice on the medical treatment of a testicular rash. The video triggered very different reactions: Some were outraged by alleged "misogyny" and sexist statements and images, while others pointed out that Annemieke Bes - active, laughing and dressed as a man with an artificial beard - took part in this parody herself. The video producers received a lot of support from the other teams in the race for their fun. Witt had added a joking warning to the one-and-a-half-minute video: "Warning! Everything in this piece will offend parts of the public." When the video was posted on the Volvo Ocean Race social networks, it was captioned "Not even the directors will touch this." The clip has since been deleted from the team's and the race's pages around the world.

And something else has happened: Navigator Steve Hayles left the team - regardless of the video case - after the second stage in Cape Town. His job was initially taken over by Antonio Fontes for stage 3. But David Witt was obviously not satisfied with fifth place. The skipper of the boat flying the Hong Kong flag surprisingly hired the experienced navigator Libby Greenhalgh, whose brother Rob is one of the sport's greats and currently leads the rankings with "Mapfre", before the start of the current fourth leg. Libby Greenhalgh was navigator for the SCA women's team in the last race. The British meteorologist is considered smart and tough. The 37-year-old could now become the match winner, because: Witt's team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag is in the lead with just under 100 nautical miles ahead of the second-placed team Vestas 11th Hour Racing on the way to the destination and home port of Hong Kong two days before arrival. Will Witt's team manage an underdog triumph on the way home to Hong Kong of all places, a solo with two impressive female sailors on board? It would not only be a sweet victory for the skipper and the whole team, but also a brilliant success for Annemieke Bes and Libby Greenhalgh, who is also one of the directors of the Magenta Project, a global campaign for female sailors.