The hoped-for decision has been postponed and is still a few months away. Nine days after his entrance examination in Holland, Berlin star boat sailor Robert Stanjek still has to fight for the last place in the Dutch Team Brunel. The call from Team Brunel's skipper Bouwe Bekking on Wednesday morning was very positive, but Stanjek's rival Pieter-Jan Postma also remains on the shortlist. The Dutch Olympic fourth in the Finn dinghy and the German Olympic sixth in the Star boat have emerged victorious from the army of around 300 applicants, but will now have to fight for the last vacant position on Team Brunel in the coming months and convince skipper Bekking.
"Bouwe would like to take me with him," Robert Stanjek told YACHT online after the phone call, "I'm going on the boat in April. I'm really looking forward to it! So far, this is the best possible outcome for me. Bouwe is initially taking two U30 sailors with him on the transfer trip. Plus the Dutchman Pieter-Jan 'PJ' Postma. Two other U30 sailors, who are competing for the two U30 places alongside the first two, and I will then join them in Lanzarote. Now that a navigator has already been signed up, there is still one place left for the over 30s. PJ and I are now fighting for that."
Initial reports from team circles on Wednesday stated that Pieter-Jan Postma, the Lithuanian Rocas Milevicius, 27, and the Belgian Louis Balcaen, 25, will take part in the transfer of Brunel's racing yacht from Southampton to Lanzarote. It was also reported that Robert Stanjek and the Dutchmen Timo Hagoort, 25, and Gregor Vlasblom, 27, will join the team on Lanzarote in April.
Stanjek's chances have not increased as a result of the long-distance duel against Postma, but they have not decreased either. Bekking had said in several interviews that he would prefer a Dutchman if the candidates had the same qualifications. However, Pieter-Jan Postma has so far lacked the offshore experience that Stanjek has already gained over the past two years, and he has certainly managed to impress. Bekking told the Berliner: "I would love to sail with you."
The final decision is likely to be difficult for Bekking, who once again confirmed Stanjek's excellent presentation in Holland in a private telephone conversation: Will he choose his 32-year-old compatriot Pieter-Jan Postma, who is popular in Holland, or the talented and team-minded German who scored so conspicuously well during his presentation? It cannot be ruled out that, in addition to Stanjek's qualities, the needs of team sponsor Brunel will also play a role in the decision. The company has many employees in Germany and could be very interested in a sailing German ambassador in the Dutch team.
The Volvo Ocean Race starts on 4 October in Alicante, Spain, and takes participants around the world in nine stages and over 40,000 nautical miles. The race ends on 27 June 2015 in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
