Winners 😀

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lies:

Calling it now.

No but seriously. It’s a big world, and they’re gonna be spending a lot of time in the Southern Ocean where anything can happen. But if you’re one of the other competitors you’d better get busy.

Source

Heh. Clearly it was never in doubt. 😜

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It’s looking better for Dongfeng with each passing minute.

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Split continues.

All the teams have talked in the latest videos about how much this leg has been like a three-day in-port race, with constant maneuvers and hardly any sleep for anyone. It must be quite an emotional ride on board right now. And big conditions: The live helicopter shots of them surfing at 25 knots down the Danish coast in the past few hours were amazing.

Win or lose, they are going to be exhausted when they finish tomorrow.

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@aeternamente: Pre-Leg-10 interview with Charles, including his recap of the end of Leg 9.

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Sea of Glass

Dongfeng in the Bristol Channel, May 28, 2018. As of the end of Leg 9 Dongfeng Race Team leads the Volvo Ocean Race by a single point.

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Don’t bother Pascal when he’s working.

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These are very serious professionals.

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(Continued from here)

Yes! IKR??

I just rewatched that video of them in the Bristol Channel and it’s true; something about the combination of how absolutely glassy flat it was and so quiet and the 4-knot breeze just gently breathing over them and THAT LIGHT it was just… breathtakingly, heart-stoppingly beautiful.

And Pascal is putting his hand in Jérémie’s camera lens and flipping him off, and Charles is just muttering, muttering, because there’s nothing they can do, and they get the sched that says Brunel and AkzoNobel, only 18 miles away on the south side of the channel, are in 20 KNOTS OF WIND! And he can’t know what fans knew watching the tracker, which is that it was just a momentary puff; both boats were back in 6 knots of wind a few minutes later. But on board they only get the sched once every 6 hours, and it will be 0100 UTC before they get another update and they are STUCK on the north side, committed, with no way to get across the adverse current; they’re just going to sit there and wallow while the fleet sails past them.

So for Charles it’s just like *fuck me*; it’s the Newport arrival all over again, when they went from leading the leg with every expectation of winning down to finishing 4th in the last few miles. Or going back to the last edition when they were on track to threaten ADOR for the overall race lead heading toward Cape Horn and then the mast just snapped and he slammed his hand on the wheel and screamed.

He’s usually so low-key. He’s quiet, and seems easy-going. But he is intensely competitive, even in a group full of hyper-competitive types, and you can see it there. He’s got nowhere to go and nothing he can do and you can totally see it in how his normal Mr. calm demeanor is gone and he’s just VIBRATING with frustration.

And yeah, the contrast between that and the quiet beauty around him, the awesome majesty of it, was so moving. It was like an almighty power of the universe enfolding them, and them being in it and part of it and yet unable to step outside themselves and witness it even as it moved through them.

Or something. Anyway, yeah, agree.

ETA: Here’s the video:

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New overall race leader. 😀

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Haha. I’ve definitely seen it immortalized on the Sailing Anarchy forums in someone’s sig. But you’re right; that needs the meme treatment so Tumblr can enjoy it properly.

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Dongfeng passes Surprise Atoll, New Caledonia, 2018-02-22

Drone footage by on-board reporter Martin Keruzore.

As of the end of Leg 6, Dongfeng Race Team is in second place in the 2017/18  Volvo Ocean Race. Leg 7, from Auckland, New Zealand to Italjaí, Brazil, starts Sunday, March 18.

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Closer…

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Volvo Ocean Race on Twitter:

DF passed MAPFRE in the last few miles and finished only a few boatlengths ahead. Woo! 😀

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For equal time, here’s my other favorite team (Dongfeng) from the previous Leg Zero race around the Isle of Wight. Again, lots of awesome onboard footage, this time with gusts in the 30s! I’m very much in awe of these people.

According to someone with good inside info, the reason DF dropped from a close second to fourth just before the finish in this race was one blown maneuver that resulted in a (brief) headsail fiasco. Wish there was footage of that, though I can understand it not being included, whether because the OBR didn’t happen to get it or because the sponsor isn’t looking for that kind of publicity.

But as a fan I’d watch that all day.

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My favorite team this time around is approaching Fastnet Rock in the lead (of the Volvo 65 race-within-a-race). Go Dongfeng! Woo!

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Calling it now.

No but seriously. It’s a big world, and they’re gonna be spending a lot of time in the Southern Ocean where anything can happen. But if you’re one of the other competitors you’d better get busy.

Source

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Huh… when is this starting?

The start of Leg 1 (Alicante, Spain -> Lisbon, Portugal) will happen on October 22. So just under five months from now.

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Dongfeng Race Team training for the 2017/2018 Volvo Ocean Race.

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The Volvo trans-Atlantic Leg 7 finish was at sunrise this morning Lisbon time/late last night California time. All six boats finished within 4 hours of each other, with the order being: Brunel, MAPFRE, Alvimedica, Dongfeng, ADOR, SCA. Winds got super light in the last few miles, which made things interesting, especially in the battle for third place.

Dongfeng was solidly in third as they approached the land, but Alvimedica got better wind close to shore and managed to pass them. Then in the final beat to the finish under the boats’ masthead Code 0 headsails, Dongfeng initiated a tacking duel. Alvimedica had a poor tack that allowed Dongfeng to escape into better wind, and for a moment it looked like Dongfeng had retaken third place.

It was significant for the overall race standings, because Dongfeng is the closest to overall leader ADOR, so every boat they could put between themselves and ADOR would help them close the gap.

With one final tack to make for the finish line, though, Dongfeng had a disastrous tack that left them in irons, allowing Alvimedica to regain their lead and finish in third place a few minutes later. The live coverage missed the crucial moment when the problem occurred on Dongfeng, but they were getting live audio from my man-crush Yann Riou at the time, and it was heart-breaking to hear him describe what was happening. (Also hard to listen to was skipper Charles Caudrelier screaming in frustration.)

You can use this link to go straight to the climax:

• Dongfeng’s blown tack just short of the finish line

Overall standings (low-point scoring) with two (short) legs remaining:

1. ADOR: 16 pts
2. Dongfeng: 21
3. Brunel: 22
4. MAPFRE: 26
5. Alvimedica: 27
6. SCA: 41
7. Vestas: 52

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