Volvo Ocean Race: Done and dusted

Itajaí, Brazil (April 8, 2018) – The Spanish team MAPFRE, the last team still competing in Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race, crossed the finish line in Itajaí this morning to secure fifth place in the double-point leg.

The result hands the overall lead of the 2017-18 edition to Dongfeng Race Team, who leapfrog over MAPFRE with a one-point advantage on the leaderboard.

It’s a disappointing turn of events for skipper Xabi Fernández and his team who had led the race since winning Leg 2. “It’s been difficult for all of us,” Fernández said. “We were expecting much better, but it’s not the end of the world, it’s not so bad.

While MAPFRE was able to hang on to the leaders through the gales and hard miles of the South Pacific despite a damaged mast track, a torn mainsail at Cape Horn subsequently forced a 13-hour stop for repairs.

“We were compromised this leg with technical problems, but it’s nothing to do with the crew work or the trust we have in each other. We’ve been going very well up to this moment and I’m pretty sure we’ll keep going well in the future.”

The delay for the team allowed the leading group to push ahead of a high-pressure ridge, which would eventually all but block MAPFRE’s progress north towards the finish and turn that 13-hour pit-stop into nearly a five day deficit at the finish line.

MAPFRE crossed the finish line at 07:59 UTC, for an elapsed time for the leg of 21 days, 06:59:09.

Five boats finished Leg 7, with Team Brunel taking the win and scoring maximum points, followed by Dongfeng Race Team and team AkzoNobel. Yesterday, Turn the Tide on Plastic finished fourth.

Two teams retired from the leg: Team SHK/Scallywag following the tragic loss of John Fisher overboard; and Vestas 11th Hour Racing following a dismasting south of the Falkland Islands.

Scallywag replaced its race crew in Puerto Montt, Chile with a delivery crew which is bringing the boat through the Strait of Magellan and north to Itajaí. Vestas also relieved its race crew, with a delivery crew leaving the Falklands yesterday for the 1,500-mile journey north. They expect the delivery to take 10-12 days.

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 took 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.

For crew lists … click here.

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

Leg 7 – Final Results
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), Finished on Apr 7 at 04:12:44 UTC
5. MAPFRE (ESP), Xabi Fernández (ESP), Finished on Apr 8 at 07:59:09 UTC
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 7 of 11 legs)
1. Dongfeng Race Team (CHN), Charles Caudrelier (FRA), 46 points
2. MAPFRE (ESP), Xabi Fernández (ESP), 45
3. Team Brunel (NED), Bouwe Bekking (NED), 36
4. Team AkzoNobel (NED), Simeon Tienpont (NED), 33
5. Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag (HKG), David Witt (AUS), 26
6. Vestas 11th Hour Racing (DEN/USA), Charlie Enright (USA), 23
7. Turn the Tide on Plastic (POR), Dee Caffari (GBR), 20

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