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The sweat started dripping after only a couple of minutes on the grinders. The race hadn’t even started.
Michael Brown, left, takes a breather during the pro-am race. Photo: Martin Keruzore / Volvo Ocean Race.
The orders, you suspect, were barked out in a friendlier way than they normally are. More like a border collier than a German shepherd.
The boat groaned as the sheets were eased and the buzzing sound of the keel being canted reverberated underfoot.
It was busy, noisy but controlled onboard Dongfeng Race Team. This was no better exemplified than by skipper Charles Caudrelier, who calmly steered the boat to within inches of Mapfre in the pre-start. Even during a pro-am race, the Frenchman didn’t want to be beaten by his main rivals.
Unfortunately, he was in the pro-am race I was involved in. We were rolled by Mapfre on the reach to the finish as we placed an inglorious fifth.
I suspect they didn’t get enough power from the grinders. I would have blamed me, too.
Last Friday I was lucky enough to be involved in one of the four pro-am races on Auckland harbour which gave a handful of punters a small taste of what it’s like on the Volvo 65s.
It doesn’t take much to get them going, and the acceleration in only 7-8 knots of breeze was impressive. They covered the race course quickly – too quickly for my liking – and there was barely time to take it all in before the other group took their turn.
The real sailors were all relaxed but you could tell they were eager to get to the Southern Ocean. They feel more at ease in the liquid Himalayas with its freezing temperatures, huge seas the size of small buildings and regular storms and had been on shore long enough.
Many of those on Dongfeng also knew the risks the next leg posed and Caudrelier desperately hoped to get around Cape Horn this time with his mast intact after it broke 200 nautical miles from the iconic rounding in the last race.
It was all relatively sedate during the pro-am racing but exciting for those of us not used to it. It’s what the pro-am races are designed for – and to get nice and sweaty.
- Michael Brown raced with Dongfeng Race Team thanks to Zhik New Zealand. Zhik supply Dongfeng Race Team and team AkzoNobel with all their race gear, including their Isotak X gear designed especially for the Volvo Ocean Race. For more, see zhik.com
Photo: Martin Keruzore / Volvo Ocean Race.
