[Music] [Music] you [Music] hello I'm Matthew Shin I'm the producer of the world sailing show here at sunset and Vine among the many topics that we cover around the world racing is very very popular and the Volvo Ocean Race is one of the most famous but it's a race that's going through a number of changes and as we looked back at archive footage to cover that story in the February show we were struck by just how incredible the last race was in fact we were drawn in so much that we decided to pull it all together and make a feature out of the whole thing so here it is we pick up the story with the incredible rebuild of the entire fleet of the new boats 40,000 miles flat out around the world always raced always rallied and always with the accelerator pressed firmly to the floor the Volvo Ocean Race boats had a tough life last time round crews did their best to stay on top of routine maintenance and repairs you know what they say the good kissers better than a bad measure some boats were pushed harder than others and faced a bigger task to get their show back on the road a tough life was what the identically matched Volvo 65 s were designed for but a high mileage pre-owned machine that has been flogged for nine months by a crew on a mission might not be your first choice for a second lap of the planet yet this is exactly what is in store for teams in the next race a race that will break new ground for an offshore fleet of high-tech carbon-fiber rocket ships of the eight boats that will be on the start line this November only one is brand new and yet so far none of the teams that competed in the last race have chosen the boat in the new rapper or indeed the boat that won the last race such as the confidence they have in the fully refitted fleet Nick byes describes himself as chief technical development officer I gave myself that name to everyone else he's the boss and the founder of the boatyard but whatever his title by sand his team broke new ground in the last race with a bold experiment to maintain the entire seven boat fleet with one shoreside operation that followed the race a touring pit lane for the Volvo 65 and a first for the offshore racing world so the boatyard started off free the 2014-15 race with the plan to help reduce the team's overall budget by offering services pulling the spares by basically grouping all those things that teams are doing individually to try and reduce their overall budget but not having an effect on the actual team's performance like asking Formula One drivers to hand their keys to Bernie Ecclestone for a service in Valley before the next Grand Prix the plan was a bold one yet this is precisely what vices team did we had a pretty special system set up from the between the shore managers and us being the beta and the suppliers as well essentially the boat could send the jobless to the shore manager the shore manager would then input it into what we call a smart thing and that would generate reports that get sent to either their head of the department or the actual supplier in anticipation for what is coming up for the next stopover we were servicing the boats for the lead coming up so we're proactively servicing not reactively servicing so we gather that was around 95% of the servicing done was proactive and only 5% reactive One Design boats it gave us the opportunity to be as open book as we wanted and those jobless that were being sent off the boats I would print them out and stick them up in the boatyard for the public to even see so everyone knew exactly what was going on in the past it was an advantage or not I'm not entirely sure to keep secrets and sometimes of the boats arrive at the dock with the shore crew not knowing what to do because it's been such a secret but there are no secrets about what happens for the next place the Volvo 65s were designed to do two races getting them ready for another circumnavigation involves stripping all seven of the existing boats back to their birthday suits and rebuilding them from scratch a 1 million euro refit per boat [Music] we've basically rebuilt the boats and this group refit that we've done in this one this time around we've done a lot of changes but we haven't fundamentally changed the performance record of it a bit of weight of the boats noise we could have spent a lot of money trying to put your listing files on a boat that's a bit heavy and it didn't seem the right thing to go and spend you know a million on something that would give a five percent gain or something I mean it's wonderful it's not the bit that's going to change it's a successful race or not but before they could rebuild the fleet they had to build themselves a facility that could handle seven large race boats in a row no easy task the answer was a disused fishery in Lisbon converted into the Volvo pit lane and made ready for the Grand Prix production line so yet day one of this boats refit disassembly where we've lifted about oh the water taking the mast out and we set up to take the boat off the keel now so this boat now is in its third week inside this base the boat builders are still doing some modifications to this boat and the painters are getting all the paint off the deck and they're gonna start sanding the hull to get a bit of head for when it rolls into the painting booth now it takes five days to strip a boat when it comes into the first bay and and at this point in the process now that we know it it's probably sixty percent of the time it would take to do it if you were just here's a container full of parts and let's start putting things together so that's every three weeks another one rolls out and it feels like it you just got done with a tire change and here comes the the B car in for a fresh set the hardest bit is probably the shaping of the boat so once we've stripped off all the old branding we then go into we put the materials back on the primers and then we go into the shaping where we use their big long drain pipes with sandpaper on four guys all together like this and just sand and shake the whole boat up that takes about three days to do that but that's will be the hardest bit a lot goes on in this Bay every single component that was taken off the boat has been serviced and is now going back on it's also getting tested so every single department has it go on here this boats coming out of the out of the spray booth in three days time and as you can see it's looking very red so you can guess which boat it is but they've still got to do the final coat on it they still got to do the non-skid on the deck and they still got to paint a few components all that in three days so on it's a massive massive show of a teamwork effort in here at the moment that bread boat was Mapfre one of the first to be relaunched in her new colors ready for testing and crew trials but despite the intense level of scrutiny sometimes not everything goes to plan shortly after she was relaunched mat free broke her mast during an offshore training run a frustrating and acute reminder of the fine line but teams tread [Applause] but sometimes the failures are intentional it's very uncommon to have the chance to destroy something that someone else is built so carefully and so accurately but this time we broke this carbon pot or something worth while reliability is key so too is the need to ensure that the fleet is evenly matched the current boat that we're sitting on which is fully ready to go weighs around twelve and a half tons and the difference across the fleet between the eight boats is 36 kilograms only on the whole boat and that 36 kilograms then actually gets corrected so one the boats are actually sailing the boat sway exactly the same so the performance from the boats comes purely from the cofee for the next edition of the race these boats will be about two knots quicker now that's actually due to going to the southern ocean and sailing downwind and in different wind strengths there's a whole new sail wardrobe being added to the boat which is a refined wardrobe from the last edition from what the designers have learnt so the boats will be quicker from that point of view each boat has taken six thousand man-hours to refit during which time over 750 parts have been removed serviced and refitted by the time the last boat has been launched the Lisbon boat yard would have clocked up a total of 42 thousand man-hours to produce a fleet that has fit for another flat out on lap of the planet [Music] seven identical boats 700 years among them 14 crew who have won the event before every team bar one has at least one crew member that has tasted Volvo victory there are five Olympic gold medal winners in athletes and nine America's Cup victories the message is clear the 2017 Volvo Ocean Race fleet is a watch this will be the second time that the Volvo 65s have been used for the race and the knowledge is how to make them quickly has been shared around the fleet evidence that points to this being the closest race in the 45 year history of this month we take a close look at the teams and the key players in our guide and rankings ahead of the start the seven boat fleets can be split into three groups first the frontrunners [Music] starting with skipper shabby Fernandez you could list the entire team as key players it's what makes them the favorites but particular focus will be on how 49er world champion and America's Cup winner Flair tube fares along with Olympic gold medalist tomorrow Ichigo Charles Claude relay came close to victory last time around and would navigate a Pascal the Diggory with him again the team is among the favourites only two of their crew are new to that although Jeremy Baio is one of the world's top so low offshore sailors and Murray is a four-time macro 17 world champion [Music] runners up last time skipper Bao backing and navigator Andrew Kate has more Volvo round-the-world experience than the rest of their crew put together among the Volvo first-timers America's Cup winning helmsman Peter Berlin will be a focus of attention [Music] this race sees several key changes at 45,000 miles it's the longest in the history of the event and includes a return to long southern ocean labs the opening stages have changed to leg one takes the feed from Alicante to Lisbon via a number of turning points then it's the big one 7,000 miles from Lisbon to Cape Town South Africa a leg that puts real pressure on teams while the next group is stacked the talent they've spent less time training afloat but only a fool would write them all previously with Alba medica skipper Charlie Enright and Mark towel are back again under a different team name their solid crew includes navigator Simon Fischer Phil harm Damien pop soap and Tony mutter who have all won previous Volvo's just a week before the start news broke with Simeon Ian Thompson would no longer skipper the team instead Brad Jackson would take the reins a cool headed Kiwi with six previous races under his belt Jackson is a safe pair of hands navigator a jewel Salter and Yoko Signorini are from the same mold with three races of eggs two games among the newcomers Olympic gold medalist Martine Grail will be the focus attention while the boats are the same the crew makeup is different this time a new rule on crew gender has provided an incentive for teams to be mixed and for the first time there are women in all of the teams there's also a great deal of Olympic experience on the fleet a distinct advantage when it comes to close quarters racing this is home for me I am normally doing this import nearly racist in my 49er it's kind of the same thing so I definitely feel comfortable and confident more than the big ocean thing let's say the guys are definitely used to that you could argue that all of these boats here are more equal than the 49ers that we race at the Olympics you know you we would be pretty comfortable to jump on someone else's boat and be straightaway in tuned at the end of the day it's your sailing skills what you're gonna and your way you set up the boats and trim the sails and all of that that is the difference so yeah I think that anomaly is where Olympic class sailors abyss our final group with the last of the party these teams will start the event playing catch-up but there's still plenty to impress in their crew lineups the combination of deke affari and offshore Rockstar Brian Thompson makes for an accomplished foundation for this team combined with Martin Stromberg and Liz Woodley there's further depth to the crew the fari has created the biggest sailing squad of the fleet where the balance between male and female sailors will be 50/50 straight-talking David Witt is back in the Volvo Ocean Race after a 20-year absence he's joined by Steve Hales who with five previous races to his name is the most experienced on board but Luke Parkinson knows what victory looks like having won the last race abour daddy daddy so what will make for ultimate success quad radio believes there is a new focus for the next race I think last time we were the first one to really digs in Chaucer usually at the beginning sometimes to ensure leg is like the start of the race so it and because the differences are so small it's very important to get at the first man you everybody taking water you know so over the next nine months the action that decides the final outcome could happen much closer to the shore [Music] until the final blow was so we will find we are the champion [Music] the opening leg to Lisbon in the Volvo Ocean Race was a short hop compared to the 45,000 miles that lay ahead but it was a stressful one for the teams the scramble to get out of the Mediterranean after the start from Alicante saw the fleet stick together the best us 11th hour racing were happy to break from the pack and the early confidence paid off be honest to live before the leg us quite apprehensive about how this leg was gonna play out because I remember from the 2015 race how many times the whole fleet just flipped inside out and leaving out the Med so you know we knew it's important to have a strong strategy leaving and it worked a strong easterly winds provided a slingshot for the teams it was Vestas that led the charge leaving the race favorites struggling to keep the pace until gibralta or defeat didn't sell very properly and before Sparta and follow stay together and make the wrong choice to go to yourself and vest us did something very simple we were a very very similar speed and someone is difficult to make the break so to was keeping the lead as the breeze went light yet best us kept their advantage to take the first offshore victory in the 11 leg breaks it's a leg kind of unlike any other leg in the race really until we get back into Europe in nine months time so having sailed 1,500 miles 10% of the points have already been awarded we're glad to have and go the way they went an early piece for the team and you reminder as to how tight the racing would be this race is gonna be exceptionally tight I mean all the teams are good I think this race little deeper than the last race and then to have the you know talent from all the other boats in the last race kind of filtered amongst the current teams you kind of lose some of the boat speed edges that people had in the past and everybody's kind of raised their game together if the strong breeze with the Straits of Gibraltar have thrown teams in at the deep end the opening stages of the 7,000 mile leg - from Lisbon to Cape Town was a baptism of fire four days of full-on downwind racing at a relentless the last few hours been really tough [Music] well that's a bummer it's white or brown or small little big nothing good ever comes of a clap they're trying to avoid the big knife big bit banner of my life the Volvo Ocean Race was living up to its reputation but this edition of the event also stands out of the wide range of talent and experience among the teams among the crew lists some have a string of world titles some have America's Cup victories to them some have Olympic gold medals around their necks some have all of the above and one discovered he had even more we've got some great news have just come in from Peter Oberlin's parents it was well said of the Year award last night Peter has won the award he doesn't know yet so we're going to go and give him the news has been a really cool year up in Bermuda and how's this awesome is their collide now we're just pushing hard here starting able to the mountain but ah I'm absolutely thrilled for him couldn't be happier ever the diplomat ever the solicitor life offshore is Berlin's normal own this edition of the race stands out for the new wave of young accomplished sailors that have joined this list many are less decorated than Burling but they're just as hungry to learn I think the appeal for me was it was a completely different challenge I love Olympic Sailing but I also find it really tough I'm very stressed all the time and there's huge amount of pressure on myself as an individual to perform well I really enjoyed the team environment on the boat and it just opened my eyes to something that I hadn't even considered definitely daunting I my longest offshore had been the prologue from Lisbon to Alicante which was four days of light winds knife whether three weeks plus on the boat that's gonna be really tough my officer experience started in maybe June July this year a couple of months after the cut I think the biggest learning curve for me has been just managing myself offshore managing the sleeping managing the eating so then when you get on deck can you and you guys make the boat go fast you can do it I think there's massive similarities and some aspects of this racing imagine your own expectations having to manage other people's expectations and all of the technical skills I think obviously on a much smaller scale you know it's all the same sport the Olympic Sailing has set me up quite nicely for transition into this kind of racing to start with I didn't know what I can put into the seam and I think slowly I'm getting there and I've obviously done a lot of races imports and tactics with bottom boat but I'm still struggling to look out of the boat still because I'm through focus in the maneuver and making sure I do my job right so for me it's been a hard part now but I think he was time wood or get better and while many would agree benefits of an Olympic medal hasn't always provided an instant advantage first few days with free wedding I was saying the first day I was like what am I doing here but then it got pretty nice but most of the most of the Tradewinds so it's nice map for a skipper believes there's a different reason to take these newcomers offshore I think it's not a matter of new generation of philosophy it's just a matter of very good service of course helps to have people always you know talking in the meetings not just listening and people bring in a new point of view and this just open-minded you know this is very important as the fleet crossed the equator and the newcomers were subjected to king Neptune's induction with you remember he was a handsome man the racing remained as intense as everyone expected after 10 days just 65 miles separating the front from the back [Music] [Music] leg two of the Volvo Ocean Race for Lisbon for the new crew this was their longest time the navigators the 19-day leg between the tents and stress we're just off by the Brazilian coast rolling 400 miles there's been a little bit of a high pressure ridge and it's forcing us a little bit further to the west a bit of snakes allowed to fit it back and forth bungee cord no conditions once we change it especially here in this trade winds where these go from 10 10 to 20 knots to win the race South to the equator from Lisbon had been closed the fleet barely out of sight of each other once in the southern hemisphere a large area of light winds ahead blocked their path forcing the fleet to stay so they can't shake it off for the moment they keep coming out of that's all right to bow testing every time they've come within distance we've let them get away so it determined to keep timing the terms of Easter before it so hard being off the pace to stay in the game and I want to just make a rash decision through all the way so it's difficult time how do you think really being a pilot John yeah okay decision made Charlie when they did the reach across the South Atlantic provided soaking high-speed taste of the infamous Southern Ocean [Music] the tactical challenge off the South American coast could seem Mapfre come out on top as they led into Cape Town super happy this is that you know for us a first leg was very good already being second in this one but of course is winning here and we're in the first big you know long leg is a very happy very proud of behind them Dongfang heaved a sigh of relief having pulled themselves back from fourth after tripping up at the turn to take second tonight second place after what happened made a big mistake we did complicate big to take the lead and we just saw to be clear right next across the line was vest ass 11th hour racing taking her from here the focus turned to leg for 6,500 miles from Cape Town to Melbourne Australia across the wastes of the Southern Ocean I never sailed in a Southern Ocean will be the first time so I'm quite anxious and nervous never experienced so much coal that I think I will experience now so I hope that I'm ready all my kit is ready and I will trust press on that all the people told me that the South Ocean is hard but it's amazing - I know that it's intensive dangerous because the stern condition but I think that I'm in a brilliant scheme so I'm safety design so I'm not worried about this but yes they have a little piece that I I tell you in Australia secret as they contemplated what lay ahead some took time to visit the first key landmark of the leg the Cape of Good Hope certainly leaving the loved ones and mum and I'm talking to them the last time before you head off to a league like this it's yeah you do have second thoughts about what you're going through what you put them in through the same time as here you're doing the thing you love and everyone's always saying actually we harness to be safe real life jacket and those are the things that are going through your head when you're going through these manoeuvres and you're up on the foredeck with your harness on your life jacket oh and you make sure you clip on because you literally hear they're coming through your head that someone in the back of your mind and saying be safe is it does get pretty ropey up there wash can subpoena messy with much to the care the care with a pan each page Bisons a few men Tao Senna died you're physically probably I bought the quints unfinished damage if I'm eating by zero and with us manage my pony cuz the [Music] my mouth I want you eventually they'll go to some for garbage we told but all the veterans all the legends this is going to be the hardest league that I'll ever do going straight into this league knowing that it's gonna be cold it's gonna be wet it's gonna be a lot of hard work and not much sleep the Southern Ocean is kind of got this ominous feel about it but you don't really know what its gonna be like it to you their attention built like free shaping up right now to be a true proper southern ocean leg the Cape Town exit is not too dissimilar to what we had last time that we were here so there's no easing into leg three it's full-on straight from the beginning these guys will be 30 to 40 knots at times everything that you hear about the Southern Ocean for big breeze big waves cold air cold water it's all gonna be there and it's all gonna be straight in their face right from the beginning [Music] the opening conditions were just as brutal as the forecasts suggesting as the fleet punched his way up winner but there was far more a weather bond was developing the span those vicious winds at 40 to 60 knots driving 10 to 15 meter seas approach [Music] from a high scrap relentless blast through the freezing wastes of the southern ocean to a cruel in the oppressive heat of the windless pacific doldrums and then two legs and four weeks of extremes mayor for the Volvo Ocean Race teams detail to a complete shaker unlike inside out physically and mentally the last month has been testing it was a really really tough leg an absolute classic Southern Ocean this brutal relentless Southern Ocean weather the action started with the 6,500 miles Southern Ocean leg from Cape Town to Melbourne the shortest route meant going as far south as possible but with the exclusions set by the race committee away from the ice the deep south was out of Banks a jiving match along the edge of the invisible touch line but in winds of 30 to 50 knots [Music] first a trip up in a big way trash joy but left into the damage most as they throttle back to make repairs the worst part is who pulled the track off the back of the mast so plan is hopefully get the track glued back on or screw back on then we've got to repair some battements main so we'll trying to keep the boat moving as fast as possible and they outfit you know we're just finally just got a jib up still probably doing 16 knots 45 knots a week the breezy and brutal conditions were also taking their toll on the car where are they the cockpit or beans they were injuries to suffer badly this team Brunel's unnie lush who suffered broken bones meanwhile leading the charge Mapfre and dong Fong will continue when Mothra broke free to head north for the finish it was clear affection capitalizing on a better wind direction they three days later Mapfre took the leg win their second of the race so far our super physical like this one being called the wavy and Willie you know a very strong group technically a physically as well and very happy no injuries everyone be happy don't fund who would live to cross the line with the damage key accounting mechanism held on to second our racing took third as the bulk of the fleet prepared for the next leg Akzo Nobel was still working their way to the finish their crash had been costly their Christmas would be at sea the stopover was short just one week and the fleet was off once again this time to Hong Kong last in but first out for leg for Akzo Nobel hugged the Australian coast to lead the charge north but leading didn't last long by the Solomon Islands donphan was leading them guided by the team stand-in navigator and former Volvo Ocean Race winner Frank Camus but even their lead was short-lived as the back of the fleet barreled into the fruit and parked up only half the fleet was happy the darwin was the would come back so it's a new staff together so in since two hours we lost the follow advantage that saw some time variant favorites we have to cross mr. Roman up to that we will be the first one to exist the race was restarting in the doldrums scorching temperatures torrential rain and spectacular thunderstorms other tip attention as the breeze began to build Vestas eleventh-hour were first to break free could they dare to all the new breeze is in the north if you get down into that wind first and this guy gets the win and he starts spitting up and this but I still doing four knots when this guy's doing ten you can see it extends yet further to the south treading their own path david wit sun hung kai scallywag had stolen a march on the fleet during a routine song changed remember Alex fellow now he went out on the Africa shake was tangled on the into the pot but in those situations you should one either be tethered on or two at a minimum until the driver what you're doing so he knows I didn't do either those way down the other rigger I was driving and went off the beach see who's picked the back up and just throw em off like a horse Quick Reaction cream in seven minutes but it is shaping up now more night swim and black you're dead okay any reason we found you put your arm in the air okay after their scare scallywag was back under way in the best breeze as they led the field to take their first leg victory in the home port of Hong Kong a little bit overwhelming to be honest I got interviewed on the boat and I said I lie to pretty much just give everything up in my sailing career ever if I could pull this off because it's not just me you know it's just gonna mean so much to so many people sir this is fantastic fashion but shortly afterwards the mood in Hong Kong was subdued following the news that vest ass eleventh-hour racing had been involved in a collision with a fishing boat 30 miles from the finish a collision that had resulted in a fatality of one of the 10 fishermen aboard a tragic end to four tough and challenging weeks [Music] we've got a yacht race previously in the Volvo Ocean Race see that while feeding this is the scenario what we call the rich get richer any reason we foundation put your arm in the air since the start in Alicante last October the pace has been relentless long legs short stopovers and little time to recover but as the fleet arrived in Hong Kong after nineteen thousand miles the race changed clear the focus now was on import racing and to venues with a short 100 mile delivery trip in between sadly the celebrations at the end of a challenging leg to Hong Kong from Australia have been overshadowed by the collision between Vestas eleventh-hour racing and a fishing boat have resulted in a fatality the team was badly shaken and their boat seriously damaged according to a statement from the team the only viable option was to ship the boat and equipment to New Zealand ahead of the Volvo Ocean Race fleet and carry out the necessary repairs there now there were six light and shifty winds made life tricky for navigators and technicians in the to import races in Hong Kong the results saw the leaderboard reordered with Dongfang taking the overall lead in the import series but only just Akzo Nobel was quick to take the first win of to import races after a 100 mile delivery trip north to Gwangju it was time for another round the boys race and more light wins Mapfre was back on top winning the race and leading the input series once again now it was time to change gear as teams prepared for leg six to Auckland New Zealand a 6100 mile drag race south where changing gear at the right time would be critical each boat is limited to a total of 17 sails for the race and only nine are allowed on board for each leg picking the right sail combination is keen as is knowing when to change [Music] so what's in a Volvo 65s wardrobe and how do crews choose mat phrase Rob Greenhalgh explains pencil obviously everyone has a main saw very similar sales to last race this new one is slightly smaller in the head jae-won so that's our normal conventional jib on the four stay that's our upwind and reaching sail we've then got a j2 which is a Soudan chip which stepped back from the four state that is for upwind work in windy conditions with ain't got a j-3 which people may also call the Genoa State all and that essentially access estates or inside Spinnaker's and inside ships we then got the fractional 0 which is adopting our reaching sail so reaching in twelve knots up with basically and then as it gets windier you just bear away with that sail until you're running with it in 25 knots of wind with then got the masthead 0 which is essentially a bit of a workhorse that's there to get the boat through the light air big big tight laughs jib but then got our 83 it's a furling spinnaker that's what we use downwind in you know all conditions until it's too windy then the new sails of introduces the j0 which is basically an upwind jib last race we found there was a gap you know you'd be on the master zero it would get too much of that and then you went to the j1 and it was a bit too light for that so then you might use a fractional sail upwind and that was a little bit tricky so j0 is coming into the inventory to fill that up windgap boasting and it's just up to the teams to figure out how to use ago but sail selection wasn't the only critical call that lay ahead the opening stages of the six thousand mile leg to Auckland present some tricky tactical challenges two days into the leg the loose on straight provided the first test team Grinnell pulled out a slim lead in the punchy conditions then came the big gamble as Akzo Nobel and team honk I scallywag tacked off to the north ultimately this is long-term trying to hook into that northerly breeze more than anything so yeah we in theory we'll get into that first and then be able to be in a position to use the pressure there to come down back at the three and over the top of them hopefully but it didn't work three days into the leg both teams were more than 100 miles behind the leaders as the breeze switched on this feels wrong very heroic while further south and in perfect conditions the frontrunners were at full pace I've seen driving like averaging 30 33 knots a breeze and just jam in this way for 25 26 28 knots of our boat so probably most what I've seen better but with over 4,000 miles still to go and the light winds of the doldrums ahead this leg was a long way from over seeing the frontrunners slowdown AkzoNobel and scallywag altered course to avoid the light where the traffic and hauled back their 100 mile deficit before taking the lead just as the doldrums had shuffle the pack on the way to Hong Kong the return trip threatened to do the same thing stress and you might think 40 knots big waves and the Southern Ocean but not on this leg instead the real stress came in the last 100 miles to Auckland the Volvo Ocean Race fleet had sailed 27,000 miles at the round-the-world course but the last two legs saw big changes in fortunes some very close racing and plenty of stress especially at the front of the fleet tough day relating and then they were leading and then we were leading in and they were leading and then we were leading it was little different at the back as Matt Freund Dom Fung were locked in a 6,000 mile dura while in the middle Brunel took a big gamble that went sour leaving akzo nobel scallywag and turned the tide on plastic to lead the charge to the leg finish where an Auckland upset was installed shape as the fleet closed in his predictions came good and the racing got unbearably close acts are noble and song hyung-tae scallywag continued their private but it would be more than happy to take a second than run away and hide because it's been a horrific lake this month so pretty fast after 21 guys to say but in the franco-spanish duel the French skipper was confused fighting together again since day one I don't know he's the mouse he's again and in the middle decaf Ari's turned the tide on plastic was being squeezed as they defended their third place and the pressure words that would haunt her later as the breeze filled in the story became one of heroes and heartbreak by the finnish accent noble took the win even this morning you know we had a couple of lead changes unbelievable crew work I'm unbelievable proud of the crew and they did such a fantastic job and we managed to be one half mile front and finish two leg by just 12 minutes overscan elope much pressure as we could on for three weeks and they they stood strong the crushing blow came in the last few miles as Mapfre and dong Fung forced their way through to push go far ease team into fifth the crew on the blue boat were distraught their skipper struggling to find the right words by the fact that nobody stood along the deck I don't actually even know what to say got it we had a good race we thought we were gonna have a better result those pesky red baits always seem to get it their way well clearly relieved at coming forth cut rally I felt their pain sorry for taunted a vehicle they did a fantastic racin I feel they deserve the first place but that's sitting there was more stress to come as light winds or a drifting match for the import racing the tension built once more the following week as teams headed off on the longest and most intimidating leg of the race back into the Southern Ocean and around Cape Horn behind the dockside smiles and away from the Auckland bus anxiety was building among the Volvo Ocean Race crews [Music] the fleet was now halfway around the world and the race had intensified the favourites were no longer dominant as mad phrase points lead with it tension was building with more than half the available points on the table and double points for the next leg from New Zealand to Brazil plus a bonus point for the first boat to round Cape Horn the race for overall victory was back home so now it comes down to the people and the mindset and he's put under pressure and who's not and who's got pressure more importantly who hasn't but the pressure in Auckland was about more than just points the next 7,000 would be the toughest of the race and everyone knew it really it's the like the Volvo Ocean Race has been defined by so no secret the register gained quite late in the season for rounding the horn potentially the weather is getting worse certainly the low pressures are getting a bit more frequent and a bit more potent so certainly in this race when we're rounding the Hornets late as we are Abby it'd be really nice to get round it's a massive landmark leg not everyone makes it and I think historically we know that boats of perish sailors are perished and you know the lucky ones get round and so far my Luck's been going quite well and I just hope it holds out [Music] the first race back in 1973 the Southern Ocean has been the focus of attention sail the ocean wasteland at the bottom of the world has always had a fearsome reputation and in four to five years nothing has changed big waves serious breeze and cold the start was a familiar affair as the fleet completed the initial course before heading out into eternity the was underway and the reality of the task started to see you I don't think you can ever really be ready for such things or whatever it's gonna be jumping in a row so we're gonna be pretty broken by the time we get there but now we good fun five days in and the fleet began to zigzag its way along the boundary set by the race organizers to keep the fleet north of any ice the maneuvers relentless striking the right balance between speed and safety mr. s opponent is not the average we need browsers from will adjust and when you have 40 knots we know what said to use it then you are the same you have to react but the weather had more instable as expected when building now you know pretty solid by stream right on the limit describe conditions what's of huge seas big winds major schools damage cells [Music] well we just had a problem about the yes program the Jaber we were riffing for the second trip for the cottage ibless will be doing yesterday the same as possible the man's truck came undone and grew pretty much what happened to like so during a job in industry then tragedy so I'm very saddened to let you know that we have probably lost one of our crew members in the Volvo Ocean Race John Fisher on day nine 1,300 miles west of Cape Horn Sun Hung Kai scallywag reported a man overboard sailing in 35 to 40 knots of wind and then six meter seas of the boat had crash dived after surfing down the face of the wave as the boat spun around and laid flat crew member John Fisher was not datable he was wearing full survival gear yet despite retracing their track and conducting an extensive search the scallywag team were unable to find their crooner the loss and sent shockwaves throughout the fleet of a nation this might find a good man in fish and you know for myself and I no no no is very deeply affected by and offer our have thoughts to the pain that's absolutely devastating for everyone on board and obviously morale is down and we kind of mentioned the pain that they're all going through and so our thoughts are really first and foremost with those guys and you know the race is really secondary at this point emotions were raw messages of support it was harder nearly at the turning point of this race I'm really looking forward to getting to nothing everyone is called the horrible they're really nice together and coming this everyone in [Music] but the weather coming up as the fleet the most notorious and feared headland of the whole Cape worn the pressure was going to build even fur the leg played out stay with us to find out how [Music] stress wild weather and tragedy had characterized leg seven of the Volvo Ocean Race from Auckland to itajaí a Brazil having snatched an early lead in the meg Reno were first around the infamous landmark in Cape Horn it's like what yeah yeah I think one of the hardest I've ever done and I've been there hey tongues before Peter on and you can just feed on the favors of the crews finally they're coming from farms appearing on the tape again there were no smiles at back for cutting nurse their rig through the Southern Ocean the damaged Mars track eventually gave way ripping the mainsail and causing even more damage to the mast others were also facing problems the spreader root looks like it's shredded I found the calf Ari's crew had been looking and had managed to fix the problem but on the same day rest us 11th hour racing had been less fortunate shortly after celebrating disaster strike routes hanging around 75 true wind angel in about 30 knots of grease and there was a big bang and the rig broke just about the first spreader a crushing blow to a team that had been forced out of yet another leg of the race motoring the 100 nautical miles to the Falkland Islands gave the crew time to reflect I think that just it just tells the story this race is about overcoming the difficulties we can't really overcome this right now but we can to make port planning go forward and try our hardest to keep keep it the race Akzo Nobel was also fighting to stay in the hunt after discovering you can kill them alright to go down here swing down to kill this to cover plates for the cubox lip balms the front are the important ones are snapped off completely so there's a okay the hole about that big and the bottom of our boat meanwhile the race at the front of the fleet had intensified Bruno's lead was under threat from donphan as the pair headed north towards the finish of it as I am of course we're gonna win not only me everybody likes the winner we are fighting for the first place with Bruno but we all have to forget that the boards there people retire but the biggest mistake we could do would be to which perverts to a great Ridley's leg as the breeze dropped the battle between the pair became a needle match placing even greater stress on the already exhausted crew but backings team held its nerve after more than two weeks of leading the fleet and covering almost 7800 miles they hit sealed pitch or witness there's been a really tough like I think especially about you know of course with the loss of John that's it's a really really deep and thing especially as being a skipper you just feeling all that responsibility for your crew members and the family members at how everyone then that there now all of a sudden the scoreboard looks a little bit more in our favor cordeliers donphan team have been looking for a win yet with Mapfre finishing fifth second place put Don fun at the top of the overall rankings [Music] Legg Silverman had been brutal and the scoreboard reordered yet as they said for to shore every creamers are aboard every team was acutely aware [Music] [Music] six months after the start of the race with 11,000 miles to go having burns more calories than they could possibly consume many were running on entering now leading the race donphan needed to ensure that their team was fit enough to be bigger more stay with us to find [Music] you [Music] freeze-dried foods for weeks on end it's a love-hate relationship pass the province ow of a bunch in silicon can't develop after one week of 10-day you will eat the same thing again every day you had it and also the taste especially for he's terrible must remember not to put the water and too early on the pasture province are because he gets a big baby I think a 30-minute preparation time will be sufficient for that one chili con carne o likes a little bit long otherwise the beans get a bit dusty hot dusty beans and if I want to see he's won again I would actually say some of these mills I would order if I was out at a restaurant they're that good love it or hate it's all develop cravings they're in a steak Jenny's the first thing on the right and you can't beat a bunch of fresh fruit and you know and then moving into the steak because it was a great place for getting a good steak on that first night in addition to cravings leg seven the Volvo Ocean Race mentally and physically is it tears your body apart during the race you will never gain any mass or any strength or any endurance arriving here is the most broken up in 17 days of just pure abuse this is where you start seeing teams getting tired the three most important months of the race are ahead of us this point of the race is where the survival of the fittest starts none of this was a surprise to the new race leaders what I say to the team from Oakland onwards it would be the land of opportunity or the beginning of the nightmare and the dong Fong race team had planned for this in great detail we highlighted this lake as the absolute focus arriving from in July on a successful positive note and we knew that if we could be on the upslope at this point we would be on a very positive path to the end of this race now with a one-point lead 11,000 miles of racing ahead and one-third of the points still on the table getting back in shape was crucial you take a lot of physiological measurements we do we do property body weights and we do hydration levels when they arrive we look at Lindsay conferences and then we look at the the skinfold measurements and with that you get a very good understanding of how the bodies actually change but what we're seeing is actually compared to the last race we're seeing some really good stability in our numbers so we obviously have baseline figures and we have acceptable margins that we know that we can play with and we know we can bring the guys back from and the underlying principle the gold fulness at the beginning of this campaign was to really try and minimize this accepted deterioration this idea that we have to arrive at the finish line physiologically broken and we wanted to challenge that from the start the cruise recovery program started as the lines went ashore so typically we have 50 days of a little bit of gentle silver a landing protocol whereby we do a lot of injury assessment we do all the measurements we listen to the guys we do some menu planning for the next leg and we give them a little bit of time in space one of the aspects it's been really good for us is actually having a chef that worked with us from the very beginning this project and as a company is all the way around this tour what I like to do when they just arrive it's try to find nice pastry of this kind of stuff it's really when they arrive on the dock that I'm gonna be the first to give them something nice to eat but the chef's duties extend beyond just the sailors we have all the support team with the technical plow the performance logistic the communication everyone like it's like a little company my day when they do the riff it is so 5:30 star 6:30 breakfast but still think I'm doing magic but I'm not I'm not doing magic sometimes yes it's just with the chocolate cake meanwhile in the team container a different kind of food preparation we're putting all the individual food programs together this week the sailors come in and we work through the individual packing per day so we have for 18 days for the next leg everything laid out and we run it through the spreadsheet to know exactly what they're consuming you know the trick for this one is to put it in your freeze dried yeah okay with a week to go and the crew on the mend the gym session start working through seas to go yeah yeah finish strong there's no point in going hard in the gym two days after you've arrived from a 20-day leg when we arrive our blood is taken and from our blood tests they can see how much recovery we need we start very slowly generally a week after you come back on shore then we get into some weight to work some strength work in in the gym it's not to try and build something but it's just to try and maintain what you feel previously as soon as you get a mismatch between nutrition and the tasks on board you're boning fuses you're boning matches and they'll soon be out of energy and that's what we really want to try and avoid and they feel like we're almost there one long leg to go and then the trainees actin a couple of shorter legs but there's still one third of the points to go and we're still very conscious of that fact that there's only one point between us and that Freight and everything is to pay for and we have to keep keep striving and trying to thrive in this environment [Music] the physical stress of the South was behind them but the pressure of going north was lying in wait as the Volvo Ocean Race flee to prepare for the 5600 mile leg from itajaí a to Newport on the oval scoreboard the tables had turned the race had a new leader and with 1 points between 1st and 2nd both teams were feeling the heat dong Fong were confident that they plan for every eventualities including how to deal with the mental pressure it's a new dimension about a modern approach of sports and maybe selling my first job is to understand what happened during the leg and after that I tried to coach them individually or to keep a better relationship between some guys because with the fatigue and the goal that we have to win the race we have a lot of pressure it's not an individual race so you have to change sometime your mind and you were compete to look at the weather the team had hired one of the world's leading experts yes so I typically come in a week before and basically I prepare it as if I would be selling myself so I try to make sure that everything that can be prepared on navigational Department is done which can be a lot like notes of Mariners the charting the sailing instructions any changes to notice with race although all the regulations would be it's basically then I also start looking at the weather you know long term and so to get a plan for at least a few first few days once they get out that they already have a good plan in the head of what's going to happen so at least they don't have the danger of being sort of caught off guard early on it's a long and complicated leg and although physically it won't be that hard nothing mentally can be quite training but it wasn't just the teams that were feeling the pressure to finish first first you have to finish and the boats were feeling the strain no one could afford a breakdown on most teams of this stage has you know and even say to the pressure on him because either you if you're in front of the fleet right now you in a risk of the wheels coming off and you lose everything in these last legs and and there's pressure on everyone if you have a Gerber fleet you know you it's time to start performing it's time to put some good efforts in so everyone's got pressure on and you will see it seems what the wheels comes off on you'll see teams where they can keep it together and they finish the race strong and climb up the ladder book [Music] after a closely fought start the first to suffer a breakdown with the race leader's Mapfre after an electrical failure left him without power they know there's a bigger problem we're trying to solve is a PLC because we cannot control the kill eventually a fix was found for the kill at least nine days in and with the fleet around the Brazilian coast the drag race to Newport began as Brunel demonstrated that their dominant performance in leg seven who was no fluke pot on Grinnell's heels Dongfang was holding on to second with Matt Frey back in sixth this was good news for the Franco Chinese team meanwhile seaweed provided a game of chance for all we've started getting into all of the so bossy seaweed and that's all kind of this brown spiky seaweed 8 we see everywhere and when there's no long wind it means you're ending up with quite a lot of drag your speed going forwards it's not going forwards fast enough to blow it off and the only really way to get it off is to physically stop the boat and make the boat sail in Reverse not quick but the dice would be rolled several times more I'm gonna finish when they're very close this does very close to nightmare jr. box with who last hundred miles will be very stressful as the fleet race towards Newport the competition closed down we're hoping just to get to fourth right now we're up to third and Dante not far away you know I think we're very happy getting a bit out of it and we're not out the woods investors have any means so you know things change [Music] as the tide turned against the leaders the pack was about to be shuffled once again Matt Frey had come from behind to overtake Don Fong in the closing miles to the finish Don Fong was now under pressure from Vestas as the fog shrouded the action spaghetti-like tracks looked like the fleet had lost its way dong Fong had lost their battle with Vestas as Matt Frey and Brunel ghosted towards the finish 31 hours before Matt free had been in fifth 53 miles behind the leader but in the last 500 meters they had taken the lead Brunel had been robbed result this is maybe not what we had before but their second place and especially if you get to the past in the last their point three of them are before the finish that's that's really sour but there yeah sailing can be something that's really cruel and today you're on the receiving end the last 48 hours they good they've been good for us we had a very well in two nights ago where we push a lot in the storm and we catch up enough then be able to be with the leaders terrain behind them best us had taken third leaving dong Fong to cross the Newport finish in fourth a crushing blow in less than four hours they'd be knocked off the podium they had lost their overall lead it's far from finished and many things can happen so we have to work again we come back from these bad results and fight the anger - to our revenge on the next moment they say the good never give up Mapfre hadn't and were back in the overall lead leaving dong Fong to play catch-up once again on the double points transatlantic leg to Cardiff [Music] the race across the Atlantic was fast record-breaking fast but the ride had come at a price broken gear damaged prior stress flat comms and yet another shape of a leaderboard leg nine of the Volvo Ocean Race that is law one as the fleet set out from Newport Rhode Island for the 3,300 mile transatlantic routes Cardiff the end of the race the sliding interview from carpet to short legs remain before the winner could be crashed yet the points count time was at the Newport start at the battle between dong Fong and Matt Frey was still raging but bow beckons Brunel was now putting serious pressure on the favorites one day into the leg the weather forecast looks set to split the fleet teams had to decide on their route there's two options either you take a southerly route towards the Gulf Stream or you take the shortcut going up north direction Nova Scotia and I think that was the decider probably already after lag we were leading the race when we decided to go nos we thought everybody was going lost was a mistake and we have not really knowing and the loss and the other one we are going full-speed we were lucky that the split was there that the two birds were ahead of us took the wrong route maybe took the right route he can't afford to make you know attach the mistakes and we have had a couple of moments who have just gone the wrong way just got the wrong side of something and suddenly you're ten or 20 behind and then that's it there's no way back and then another surprise as conditions lined up for a record-breaking run were the first to set a new 24-hour distance record twice but axle noble we're going to India we knocked out a six hundred and two nautical miles in 24 hours which to me was I'm achievable I remember when the guy said from down below yeah we've got 600 I kind of called no not true you know you need to go back down and double-check triple-check 24-hour record I was pretty special everything wound up just perfectly both cool weather ways current winds you name it it was all there in place after riding a punchy weather front for six days the wind shut down on the fleet two days later the breeze switched off once again this time within striking distance of the finish cordeliers dong Fong we're among those that are they come on some wind and the tension was starting to show a loss to figure all in this kind of bed arriving a leader on fishing 35 lost three hours while the pressure from behind was intense it was relief ahead who know they took the leg win we tremendously happy but I think most important is that the result again a very good leg we hit for ricing we want to win this race and it's going to the right way how we like to see it behind them Akzo Nobel finished second but dong Fong finishing third quad radio team were now back in the overall lead the relief was clear to see is not to bother it's a very short lead and who cross the line in fifth it's been not NEC like for us it's been painful from day one basically and we never could catch up but you know they say not much more we could do and of course we'll fight the term they waited in the overall scores had been shuffled once again three teams separated by three points with just two legs left to run the pressure was back on the next leg from Cardiff to Gothenburg would be a sprint 1,300 miles around the top of the UK so what was the plan I'm not the red boat there is not a yellow border is just opponents or the boat are gray and we have true to self again everybody and they'd be ahead of everybody and I prefer this situation and when you think too much about one boats usually when you do big mistake it's a different like no sir it is a five days like that is almost a coastal like where we have a lot of touring points all of you know strict headings to just stick to and hopefully sir I will say easier or simpler but you know maybe we be more straightforward I think we just take it on the horns and and just sell whatever we think at the beginning part what is the best just sailed about at the maximum speed and believed the direction where you're going well the skippers were playing it cool every team knew that the line between success and defeat was finer than ever [Music] leg 10 from Cardiff to Gothenburg didn't need any pre-start hype just three points separated the top three votes just 1,300 miles lay ahead a quantity sprint in Volvo turns the start would be critical gaining a jump on the fleet who deliver an enviable advantage and all the teams knew it either do red boats and and then we're getting closer follow maybe we play a bit much much racing with Mapfre know we try to start strong and keep air hole that weekend don't worry I've been running around all Cardiff trying to work out how I get 10,000 quid on Barry to win the race no one wants to talk about come the start the weather threw in a curve ball and did nothing to calm nerves 24 hours later dong Fong had taken the lead as the fleet tiptoed past the Fastnet rock off island southern coast the next stage to Scotland was bittersweet the breeze was in the boat speeds up but the options to overtake had reduced Tom Thumb had pulled back to second with Mapfre still leading the pair looked set to arrive in Gothenburg as joint leaders overall and if they did ultimate victory in the 45 thousand mile bulbar ocean race could come down to the final 700 mile leg but then the table's turned on the drag race to the finish and Gothenburg Brunel started a charge to the front while Dongfang slipped back through the pack and after a high-speed blast across the North Sea beckons crew delivered another impressive leg win their third of the race the brief started picking up that close to 40 knots and I think basically I think the cell will be a plus probably nearly brand-new and that's probably what the what the difference was probably in the pod speed because we no new cells is normally pretty fast the Monday's aren't so in that sense thank you to the new j2 Mapfre was second it's just a livery people how we lost last night these guys came and we could get an a so we tried to hold them as much as possible but they managed to pass them there we don't fund languishing in fools sailor well but not enough to win a leg so maybe we don't take enough risk of so I don't know what but we need to take on the next one because I think on the next one we have no choice we have to be ahead of the - but code relays team were expected to take the bonus point for the best elapsed time throughout the race all three boats were now on even points going into the last 700 mile leg to the Hague the nail-biting threeways shootout was installed for the closest final in the history of the race in the chase for overall victory Brunel's newfound performance dog funds predicted bonus point and map phrase droppin ace it all added up to one point after 43,000 miles three boats were on equal points with just one leg the Volvo Ocean Race have never been closer after eight months of racing victory would come down to a nine hundred and seventy mile coastal sprint it's an incredible situation for the race because I think this free team done a fantastic job on a given fantastic fight on the water I think that something what we know that especially one particular red boat they're getting very nervous I'm very happy to be part of we're one of three will be very hard for me if you know we were out of the fight so happy from there the final leg took the fleet from Gothenburg to The Hague in the Netherlands via several turning points along the way after tricky start Don Fong rounded the mark at the head of the fleet followed by Maori who after starting in last place had pulled themselves the next mark of the course took the feet south to the Danish city of Aarhus in front of thousands of spectators Don Juan the rounded this turning point ahead of battery but this time as the fleet headed back to the north light and shifting conditions slowed the pace and piled on yet more pressure the route edit sounds once again but this time the teams have to negotiate the maze of shipping exclusion zones to get to the finish among the many tactical decisions ahead there is one issue to consider whether to go to the west or the east of the zones there was no middle ground with less than 400 miles to run the fleet splits into two groups to the west Mapfre led the charge while Don Fong at Buxton we've chosen a path in short so it's a lot of very tricky navigation we've got all sorts of sandbanks traffic separation spins at very changeable weather I suspect no one's going to get any rest tonight and we're very busy night and changing sails and navigating out our way through it all it didn't take long before dong tongs gamble looked risky as the rankings dropped them towards the back of the feet after 12 hours they were almost 50 miles behind their arch-rivals Bruno and map are sitting my mom receives at night long time it's only 40 last mile like I'm going to decide who is going to win what worshipers it's gritty but as the breeze died offshore don't fun hold themselves back into the race and into the lead by the final turning mark just five miles from the finish good ready A's team back on top this time I try for race I think I cried been playing a lot since the finishing line and it's the first time of my life I cry for that I'm so sad for the other wall and facade for Chevy because it's a good friend and I know it how much it cost to do is rise to a steeper we did a fantastic comeback at Kevin this is the race we went the wrong way very simple don't families went the right way but we actually expected that the buffer would go that way as well but then they they choose our way it wasn't until 20 miles before the finish that we knew most likely be not going to kind of beat don't think bitter then they want the rice congratulations to them by the Finnish team AkzoNobel slipped to the second leaving Matt Freeman third resulting in his second place in the overall standings about Beckingham to Brunelle work forth into the hague to grab the final podium place on the overall race leader board so after 40 the 13th edition of the famous Ocean Race had been decided in the last five nights outright victory had gone to the team but at only one of one of the eleven actual eggs but in the end the one that two little simulation something I could imagine but the pressure I I never I have less pressure on this leg on the other one we were relaxed restore it at the beginning for the first time we follow our first choice and we win [Music] [Applause] [Music] you
