A Year Ago Today: When The "Dongfeng Miracle" Came True

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A Year Ago Today: When The "Dongfeng Miracle" Came True
A Year Ago Today: When The "Dongfeng Miracle" Came True

Video: A Year Ago Today: When The "Dongfeng Miracle" Came True

Video: A Year Ago Today: When The
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Volvo Ocean Race 2017/2018
Volvo Ocean Race 2017/2018

After the Dongfeng victory, the team and especially local hero Carolijn Brouwer are celebrated like superstars in Holland

The sailing miracle came true for Charles Caudrelier's Dongfeng Race Team a year ago: In the final, the "Reds" not only won their first stage of the entire race around the world, but also the Volvo Ocean Race itself. With their unusual coastal route the Dongfeng sailors decided to go it alone in the final three-way battle between Mapfre, Brunel and Dongfeng for victory in the final sprint - and were rewarded.

Once again the moment of the Dongfeng Victory to enjoy

Volvo Ocean Race 2017/2018
Volvo Ocean Race 2017/2018

Holland's offshore queen Carolijn Brouwer celebrates her first female victory in the Ocean Race in front of a home crowd

Volvo Ocean Race 2017/2018
Volvo Ocean Race 2017/2018

Brouwers symbolic image for women power in the race around the world

Dongfeng helmsman and trimmer Carolijn Brouwer rose to become an icon of female sea sailing when she won her third circumnavigation of the world. Exactly one year after the triumph, the Dutch woman, who lives in Australia with her family, remembers the sailing day of her life:

Volvo Ocean Race 2017/2018
Volvo Ocean Race 2017/2018

Went through ups and downs with the Dongfeng Race Team before she was the first woman to put her hand on the Ocean Race trophy: Carolijn Brouwer

And on that day a year ago, we were the first to cross the finish line in my hometown Scheveningen! We not only won the last stage, but also the Volvo Ocean Race. We really did it! We knew that by choosing the near-shore course we would have to cover an additional distance of seven nautical miles compared to the boats further out at sea. I can still hear our navigator Marcel van Triest say: "You will have to be patient. At the beginning you will lose compared to the offshore teams. Your winnings will come into play when you come around the headland of Holland at the level of the island of Texel and Sailed straight towards the finish line on the Dutch coast."

After 45,000 nautical miles and nine months at sea, the decision was made on the last 2.7 nautical miles of the Ocean Race. The last 14 minutes were crucial. You're only ever as good as your last race. We certainly had our ups and downs as a team, but as Charles aptly put it: "Maybe we weren't the best sailing team. But we were the strongest team

Volvo Ocean Race 2017/2018
Volvo Ocean Race 2017/2018

Maybe not the best, but the strongest: Charles Caudrelier's Dongfeng Race Team after winning the 13th Volvo Ocean Race

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