AkzoNobel completes podium in Itajaí

Itajaí, Brazil (April 5, 2018; Day 19) – Simeon Tienpont’s team AkzoNobel has completed the podium for Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race with a third place finish into Itajaí, Brazil. It’s the third consecutive leg with a podium finish for AkzoNobel which followed a day and half after Leg 7 winner Team Brunel and second-placed Dongfeng Race Team.

“We’ve very content with the result of course,” said Tienpont. “The goal was to have a podium position, to have a safe journey and to keep the boat in one piece, which we did, so we are very happy. The mood is good, even with a slow finish, we had a good race.

“I think we had a very good crossing (to Cape Horn). I think we’ve been conservative. The plan was that normally the last bit, after Cape Horn, there is plenty of opportunities up to Brazil. This time, it was different. It was harder to catch up – the rich got a little bit richer – but it was the same for us in securing third place… It’s been a very good leg for the crew and the boat.”

The finish marked a homecoming for Martine Grael, a local hero in Brazil as an Olympic gold medallist, and the youngest member of a famous sailing dynasty.

“It’s been an amazing last few years and doing this race has been very cool,” Grael said dockside in Itajaí. “This last leg has been full of very good sailing, and a very good experience… It’s good to be able to inspire new generations…”

For the two boats remaining on the race course, the current ETA for Turn the Tide on Plastic is on April 7 between 1200 and 0000 UTC while MAPFRE is expected to follow 12 to 16 hours later.

The boats that have retired from Leg 7, Team SHK/Scallywag and Vestas 11th Hour Racing, remain focused on rejoining the race. Scallywag retired from the race following the loss of crew member John Fisher and Vestas broke its mast.

Scallywag has replaced its race crew in Puerto Montt, Chile with a delivery crew to bring the boat through the Strait of Magellan and north to Itajaí. Vestas is still in the Falkland Islands where they landed after the dismasting, and tried once to leave before returning to address mechanical issues.

Vestas boat captain Nick Dana has been collaborating with locals to get the boat ready to motor up the South American coast. A team of experts is arriving on site to make some final checks before the boat sets off within the next day or two.

The upcoming schedule includes an In-Port Race in Itajaí on April 20 and the start of Leg 8 on April 22 to Newport, USA.

COURSE: Starting on March 18, Leg 7 takes the teams from Auckland, New Zealand to Itajaí, Brazil. Race organizers choose to estimate the tactical distance for each leg rather than list the actual distance, an unusual decision that’s revealed once the race starts and the tracker lists the actual distance to finish. The VOR says Leg 7 is 7600 nm whereas the truth is more like 6623 nm with an ETA in Itajaí between April 4 and 6.

For crew lists … click here.

Race details – Tracker – Scoreboard – Race route – Facebook – YouTube

Leg 7 – Position Report (11:30 UTC)
1. Team Brunel (NED), Bouwe Bekking (NED), Finished on Apr 3 at 14:45:18 UTC
2. Dongfeng Race Team (CHN), Charles Caudrelier (FRA), Finished on Apr 3 at 15:00:08 UTC
3. Team AkzoNobel (NED), Simeon Tienpont (NED), Finished on Apr 5 at 04:38:24 UTC
4. Turn the Tide on Plastic (POR), Dee Caffari (GBR), 324.6 nm DTF
5. MAPFRE (ESP), Xabi Fernández (ESP), 595.1 nm DTF
RET. Vestas 11th Hour Racing (DEN/USA), Charlie Enright (USA)
RET. Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag (HKG), David Witt (AUS)
DTF – Distance to Finish; DTL – Distance to Lead; RET – Retired

Overall Results (after 6 of 11 legs)
1. MAPFRE (ESP), Xabi Fernández (ESP), 39 points
2. Dongfeng Race Team (CHN), Charles Caudrelier (FRA), 34
3. Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag (HKG), David Witt (AUS), 26
4. Team AkzoNobel (NED), Simeon Tienpont (NED), 23
5. Vestas 11th Hour Racing (DEN/USA), Charlie Enright (USA), 23
6. Team Brunel (NED), Bouwe Bekking (NED), 20
7. Turn the Tide on Plastic (POR), Dee Caffari (GBR), 12

2017-18 Edition: Entered Teams – Skippers
• Team AkzoNobel (NED), Simeon Tienpont (NED)
• Dongfeng Race Team (CHN), Charles Caudrelier (FRA)
• MAPFRE (ESP), Xabi Fernández (ESP)
• Vestas 11th Hour Racing (DEN/USA), Charlie Enright (USA)
• Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag (HKG), David Witt (AUS)
• Turn the Tide on Plastic (POR), Dee Caffari (GBR)
• Team Brunel (NED), Bouwe Bekking (NED)

Background: Racing the one design Volvo Ocean 65, the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race begins in Alicante, Spain on October 22 2017 with the final finish in The Hague, Netherlands on June 30 2018. In total, the 11-leg race will visit 12 cities in six continents: Alicante, Lisbon, Cape Town, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Auckland, Itajaí, Newport, Cardiff, Gothenburg, and The Hague. A maximum of eight teams will compete.

Source: Volvo Ocean Race