While the Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag team, which was badly damaged after the fatal accident of their crew member John Fisher, is approaching the Chilean coast and should reach a safe harbor within the next 48 hours, the Volvo Ocean Race fleet is at the forefront Bouwe Bekkings Team Brunel and Charles Caudrelier's Dongfeng Race Team a thrilling duel for the stage win. The leadership has changed several times. On Easter Monday morning the yellow boat under the Dutch flag was 9 nautical miles ahead of the red boat under the Chinese flag. At that time, the two teams still had to cover a good 500 nautical miles to the Brazilian port of Itajaí.
Bouwe Bekking and Team Brunel led the fleet on Easter Monday morning on the way to the port of Itajaí, but had to fight off intense attacks from Charles Caudrelier's Dongfeng Race Team. Which of the two crews will win?
Early on Monday morning, skipper Bouwe Bekking described the situation: "We are currently still dealing with the end of the last heavy-weather sailing. Will that ever end on this stage? The good news is that we are right the last few miles to the finish shovel away quickly. In the last five hours we've got an average of almost 24 knots boat speed !!! D Do you think you've made good gains compared to Dongfeng. But no, it's only two nautical miles because of course it's just as tough fight the three extra points that the winner gets on this stage. You believe that you have a good lead, but the elastic is getting shorter again, currently hardly exists, because the prognoses say that Brunel and Dongfeng will complete these stages within a minute So there will be a fight between the yellow and red buses for the next 36 hours."
Dongfeng sailor and Nacra17 world champion Marie Riou takes the MHO down. Your team is fighting for the stage win with Team Brunel
The day before, Bekking had once again reminded of the past, difficult week for all teams and wrote: "It is remarkable how quickly the human brain can forget 'bad' events. Of course we will never forget some things. But on board we will again We talked more animatedly about all kinds of things and we do a lot of maintenance. We'd forgotten how nice it is when you don't get wet."
Here you can find the intermediate results
Symbolic image for the Vestas campaign: After the collision with a fishing boat off Hong Kong, in which one of the fishermen was killed, the team is now stranded on the Falkland Islands after the mast broke
The forced residency in the Falkland Islands was not part of the plan of the setbacks Vestas 11th Hour Racing. The team makes the best of it and plans the fastest possible arrival of the boat and crew in the port of Itajaí after the mast breaks
Mapfre is now following the fleet with almost 500 nautical miles in 5th place after a break in material and a repair stop off Cape Horn. Skipper Xabí Fernandez expects that his team will not reach the port of Itajaí until days after the two front runners due to the current weather forecasts
The team of British man John Fisher, who died in an accident in the Southern Ocean, has published a video in his honor