After 9 months of incredibly intense and close racing Charles Caudrelier, the skipper of Dongfeng Race Team finished the Volvo Ocean Race in first place. It’s also the first time that a dutch woman, Carolijn Brouwer, has won the Volvo Ocean Race. They started 9 months ago in Alicante, Spain and crossed all three capes divided over 11 legs in total. The racing has been incredibly close for the last few months with Team Brunel winning 2 double points legs catching up with Mapfre and Dongfeng Race Team. It has been the closest race in the history of the Volvo Ocean Race, an instant classic.
The Volvo Ocean Race, formerly known as the Whitbread Round the World Race, was founded in 1973 and held every three years. Currently the Netherlands is the record holder of three wins, with Conny van Rietschoten the only skipper to win it twice. Sadly, this year the Netherlands just couldn’t secure the victory, after hours of a close fought race between, Team Brunel, MAPFRE and Dongfeng Race Team. However, by a stroke of luck and a different strategy, Team Brunel and Mapfre lost out on the final stretch.
This was one of the hardest races in the history of the Volvo. This year was, however, the first year the Volvo Ocean Race was finishing in Den Haag. The organiser had set up many different event for fellow sailors and families alike. For example, the Red Bull Foiling Generation, the Optimist European Championship, the Hackathon and the Innovation pavilion. Alongside these activities, there will also be many also be many presentations on a variety of different products.
This year there will be an estimated attendance of one million people from all different countries and of different nationalities attending the event compared to the 2014/15 race which had an estimate of 147,706 visitors.
Photo: Facebook Dongfeng