Charles Caudrelier's Dongfeng Race Team was one of the top favorites at the 13th edition of the Volvo Ocean Race from the start. But the French-influenced crew under the Chinese flag had a harder time than expected. Until the last, all-important section from Gothenburg to The Hague, "the Reds" could not win a stage. "You could have lost your trust in me," mused Charles Caudrelier with a modest smile two days after his triumph.
The trophy is his: Charles Caudrelier is holding onto it
In an interview, Caudrelier talks about how he was inspired by circumnavigators like Éric Tabarly and Sir Peter Blake as a teenager. "It's just unbelievable that my name is now engraved on a trophy above yours," says the Frenchman, almost astonished. He also talks about the difference between winning the Volvo Ocean Race as a crew member (with Groupamb in the penultimate edition) or as a skipper: "As a crew member it was pure pleasure. As a skipper it was really tough this time. The last one Sometimes we had fun as skippers because we were better than everyone expected. But this time everyone expected us to win. So did I. I worked so hard for it, but it just didn't come out. It was so hard long months. I had lows like never before in my life. Because I had the feeling that my team could win, but I made so many mistakes and we lost so many points."
Dongfengs-Skipper on the long and hard road to the Volvo Ocean Race triumph
What you can do with a trophy …
Caudrelier's face suddenly brightens when he talks about the thrilling finale in The Hague: "The scenario couldn't have been better. When everyone thought that we simply couldn't win a stage, we did it - and the race for us decided." His team, says Caudrelier, has stood behind him in all times of this eventful circumnavigation, on water as well as on land. One nautical miles to go, he was still thinking about what could happen: "Maybe the mast will break, maybe something gets caught in the keel, maybe we have to sail backwards?" Then he laughs freely and for a few seconds enjoys the certainty that he has actually achieved this victory.
Made the final a sailing festival that only one of the teams could win: Mapfre skipper Xabí Fernandez (left), Dongfeng skipper Charles Caudrelier (center) and Brunel boss Bouwe Bekking