What is the common denominator of the top three Volvo Ocean Race boats?

(Newport, RI)-  All have championship J/Sailors on their teams- in key roles.

MAPFRE- Xabi (skipper) and his brother Iker Fernandez sailed J/80s for years in Spain and sharpened their offshore keelboat skills in perhaps the world’s toughest one-design fleet in Spain- producers of SEVEN J/80 World Champions. Another Spanish sailor with extensive J/80 experience in Barcelona is Juan Vilar, their famous navigator (a multi-America’s Cup winner).  Where “giving an inch, means taking a mile” is the sword you live and die by in one-design events, it’s no surprise they dug deep to go from 5th to 1st on the Itajai, Brazil to Newport, RI leg and lead the standings overall.

BRUNEL- Bouwe Bekking (skipper) and Andrew Cape (navigator) are no strangers to racing at the top of the game, both one-design and offshore.  Bouwe cut his teeth early in life racing J/24s as well as J/109s later with friends offshore in the Netherlands.  “Capey” sailed numerous J/Boats over times, including sailing with Stu Johnstone on his J/44 J-HAWK in the Island Double Race hosted by the Royal Southampton YC- which they won together and awarded the coveted blue & white towel! In addition, they have Rome Kirby aboard; he and his father Jerry Kirby have sailed on many J’s over time in both local J/24 racing and PHRF handicap racing offshore. If that wasn’t enough one-design experience and toughness, one of America’s top women’s match racers, sailing coach and has raced extensively on J/22s and J/80s is none other than Wisconsin’s Sally Barkow.

VESTAS- Charlie Enright (skipper) and Mark Towill (captain) have grown up around J’s their entire lives.  Charlie was a J/24 World Champion and both have sailed with the Commodore of Bristol YC and others on J/24s, J/109s and the new J/121 offshore speedster all over Narragansett Bay- no wonder they made huge gains in the last five miles of the race from Itajai to Newport- cannot get much better “local knowledge” than those two!

DONG FENG- Charles Caudrelier (skipper) grew up in France and has extensive experience sailing the incredibly hot and competitive J/80 class in France.  Like Xabi on MAPRE, the J/80 one-design experience in Europe taught them the value of extracting every ounce of performance from their boats, never settling for second best.  In fact, when “testing” Chinese candidates for crew in China, Charles used J/80s to determine the best sailors and used them to practice hard to “sensitize” the sailors to small changes in tune/trim for superior performance.

Needless to say, it is not surprising that top three crews in the Volvo Ocean Race have extensive J/Boats experience on their resumes.  If you want to learn how to get to the top of the sailboat racing game, hop into any one of the world’s most popular one-design offshore keelboat classes- J/22, J/24, J/70, J/80, J/88, J/105, J/109, J/111 (and soon- the new J/121 offshore speedster!).

Read the fascinating analysis of how these champions tackled the final part of the Itajai-Newport leg here.

J/Sailors Leading Sweep of Volvo Ocean Race?

(Capetown, South Africa)- J/sailors leading sweep of Volvo Ocean Race after two legs? The skippers with extensive J/one-design experience were 1st- J/80, 2nd- J/24, 3rd- J/80, or in other words- MAPFRE, VESTAS 11th HOUR RACING, and DONGFENG Race Team. Yes, indeed, knowing how to cut your teeth on the knife-edge against one-design world champions hones your instincts to sail fast, consistently 24x7, and continually tweak the boat and sails to gain tenths of a knot, here and there.

The Spanish flagged MAPFRE team won Leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race on November 24, the 7,000 nautical mile marathon from Lisbon, Portugal to Cape Town, South Africa.

“It’s amazing, we’re super-happy. We came here in one piece and in front of the others, we can’t ask for more,” said skipper Xabi Fernández (a long-time champion J/80 sailor in Spain). “This is what we will see all the way around the world. Super-tight racing, everyone has good speed and small mistakes are very expensive. This time we were luck to do the least mistakes and that’s why we won.”

MAPFRE trailed Dongfeng Race Team on the long charge to the south, but last weekend, 14 days into the leg and after crossing the Doldrums, navigator Juan Vila (another J/24 and J/80 sailor) and skipper Xabi Fernández put in a quick gybe to the southwest that Dongfeng didn’t match. It turned out to be a winning move; within hours the Spanish team had a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

In contrast, after leading from the first night, Dongfeng suddenly found itself in fourth place two weeks into the leg. But skipper Charles Caudrelier led his team to an inspiring fight-back. Over the final days, Dongfeng clawed its way back into a well-deserved second place.

“A good second place,” said Caudrelier (who selected and trained many crew on J/80s in China). “For sure, at one moment we were hoping for better, but a few days ago it was much worse and we made a fantastic comeback. Well done to MAPFRE, they made fewer mistakes than us, but we never gave up, the crew never complained, they just worked on the comeback… We have amazing speed in strong winds, we’ve worked on that a lot, and it was unbelievable, we were nearly a knot faster sometimes.”

Completing the podium was Vestas 11th Hour Racing, the winner of Leg 1. Skipper Charlie Enright’s team (long-time J/24 sailor and World Champion) was always in the mix with the leaders on this leg, but couldn’t find a way to slip into the lead.

“We’re happy with a podium result against a lot of good teams,” Enright said, dockside in Cape Town. “We’re not satisfied yet with how we’re sailing the boat, so we still have a lot of work to do, but we’ll keep chipping away. We’re still trying to get faster through the water and streamline our decision-making, but it’s a long race. We have time.”

MAPRFE won Leg 2 and now takes the overall lead. For Leg 2, MAPFRE sailed 7,886.5 nautical miles over the ground at an average speed of 17.3 knots!

The teams will now prepare for the In-Port Race on December 8 before the 6,500nm Leg 3 from Cape Town, South Africa to Melbourne, Australia that starts on December 10.  Follow these three teams on the Volvo Ocean Race here- http://www.volvooceanrace.com Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Congrats to Charlie, Mark & Nick- VOR Leg#1!

(Lisbon, Portugal)- Congrats to Newport sailing duo Charlie Enright and Mark Towill and the rest of the VESTAS 11th Hour Racing crew (including Newport Shipyard’s Nick Dana, son of Charlie Dana- owner of the yard) on their first leg win in the Volvo Ocean Race!

VESTAS 11th Hour Racing won Leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race, crossing the finish line in the River Tagus in Lisbon, Portugal with a 2.5 hour time cushion over the second place boat.

It’s a tremendous victory for American skipper Charlie Enright and his team, who earn 8 points for their efforts (including a one point ‘bonus’ for winning the leg).

It wasn’t easy. The wind shut down on the final approach, and an early morning lead of 34-nautical miles over second-placed MAPFRE was whittled down to 10-miles, with the finish in sight.

Nevertheless, the crew on the VESTAS 11TH Hour held their nerve; tacking and zigzagging towards the line, into agonizingly light headwinds, and finally securing victory.

“It’s incredible,” said Mark Towill, Team Director, from on board the boat moments before the finish.  “What a way to kick off the event. It’s been an incredible performance for the team… It’s been a challenging leg. We still have a lot to improve and long way to go… Today is our day, we’ll enjoy it, but then we have to get back to work and focus on the next leg.”

Charlie Enright is the third American skipper to win Leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race. The others were John Kostecki, on illbruck in 2001-02, and Paul Cayard on EF Language in 1997-98. Both of those teams went on to an overall victory – so the omens for Charlie Enright are certainly good.

Vestas 11th Hour Racing – which carries US and Danish flags – are the first American flagged team to win Leg 1. They are also the first Danish team to win a leg.

“We have a long way to go certainly, but this was a good way to start,” said skipper Charlie Enright. “SiFi (navigator Simon Fisher) did a great job. He didn’t really make any missteps. But every sked is nerve-wracking, especially when you’re stuck in a river going backwards!

“But we pride ourselves on not getting too high or too low and I think we executed that on this leg. It’s about having confidence in ourselves and committing to the process and now we’re starting to see the results of that.”

From a J/Boats sailor perspective, it’s interesting to note the top three boats were all led by very experienced J/sailors.  Charlie Enright was a J/24 World champion; the second place skipper- Xabi Fernández of MAPFRE and the third place skipper- Charles Caudrelier on Dongfeng Racing Team- both have had extensive experience sailing J/80s at a National and European level.

The next leg, a 7,000 nm course from Lisbon, Portugal to Cape Town, South Africa, starts November 5th, 2017.  For more Volvo Ocean Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Meet Vestas 11th Hour Racing- Charlie Enright

(Newport, RI)- Team VESTAS includes as its leader a J/24 World Champion Charlie Enright. Furthermore, he is joined by friend Mark Towill, both avid sailors and racers since they were little kids growing up on Narragansett Bay, sailing out of the Bristol YC on Sunfishes, J/24s, J/35s, J/105s and even the new J/121 recently.

Young guns Charlie Enright and Mark Towill are back in the Volvo Ocean Race, and they've teamed up with Danish wind energy company Vestas and marine conservation program 11th Hour Racing hoping to make a lasting impact on and off the water in 2017-18.

American duo Enright and Towill return to lead the blue boat, and want to make an impact on and off the water. Enright and Towill got their first taste of Volvo Ocean Race action in the 2014-15 edition as with Team Alvimedica, and in doing so realized a long-awaited dream to test their mettles offshore in the ultimate round-the-world race.

Two In-Port Race wins and victory in the final ocean leg from Lorient to Gothenburg left the talented Americans wanting more, and now they're back with a star-studded crew, an even bigger hunger for success and an important message about the health of our oceans to promote.

The team's partnership with 11th Hour Racing will see them engage with communities around the world to increase understanding of marine environments and how best to respect them.

Joining Towill and Enright in the team's high command is Simon 'SiFi' Fisher, who helped orchestrate Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing's win in 2014-15 from the navigation station, and returns for a fourth consecutive Volvo Ocean Race.

Around them are some of the most talented ocean racers on the planet. The likes of Damian Foxall, Tony Mutter, SCA's Stacey Jackson and Phil Harmer, all with Volvo Ocean Race victories on their CVs, will guarantee Vestas 11th Hour Racing are top contenders. Indeed, Harmer is hunting a hat-trick of consecutive wins after lifting the trophy with Groupama and Abu Dhabi in 2011-12 and 2014-15, respectively.

Nick Dana (Newport, RI) returns for a second race as a full crew member, then there are the team's under-30 crew members, bursting with enthusiasm and talent. Brit Hannah Diamond and Denmark's Jena Mai Hansen join the team from Olympic dinghy racing backgrounds, Diamond from the Nacra 17 multihull and Jensen from winning bronze in the 49er FX at Rio 2016. Young Aussie Tom Johnson joins the crew after racing with Vestas in the 2014-15 edition, then with Oracle Team USA for the most recent America's Cup.

Vestas 11th Hour Racing finished fifth in Leg Zero, the four-stage qualifying series before, then headed straight for Lisbon where they've been working hard to get up to speed, two-boat testing alongside team AkzoNobel as the countdown to the start of the Volvo Ocean Race continues.

Follow these guys as the go around the world on the Volvo Ocean Race website (great tracker, too!).

Sally Barkow- Saving Sailing!

(Neenah, Wisconsin)- Remember all that debate about Saving Sailing?  Team SCA standout Sally Barkow gets to the answer in just a few minutes.  Sally has been an outstanding product of Midwest sailing, Optimists and an avid sailor of J/22s, J/24s and soon J/70s! Plus, she knows how to match race, too, on J/80s.

One of Sailing Anarchy’s favorite all-time women sailors, please listen to Sally talk about the VOLVO Ocean Race, about inspiring the next generation of sailors, about sailing instructors and mentors, all here!

J/24 Ace- VOR Sailor Charlie Enright Inspiring Youth Sailing!

(Newport, RI)- J/24 ace Charlie Enright and crew aboard Team ALVIMEDICA had yet another good Inshore Race as part of the Volvo Ocean Race festivities in last week’s stopover in Newport, Rhode Island.  In what became a parade after their awesome start, Charlie’s crew made the most of his local knowledge of current and wind patterns to earn an easy 2nd place.

On Sunday, May 17th, the fleet started at 1400 hrs and took off over the horizon to Lisbon, Portugal after doing a windward-leeward course in Narragansett Bay.  ALVIMEDICA's On-Board Reporter, local Newport sailor and photographer Amory Ross, had this to say about their Newport stop-over:

“We were legitimately speechless, looking at the hundreds of boats lining the racecourse and the thousands of fans along the Newport shore, and when we rounded Castle Hill and the spectator fleet converged to lead us back into the Atlantic I saw nothing but smiles in every direction!

Never did we expect that kind of a turnout during a chilly May weekend in Rhode Island, but instead we were treated to a Narragansett Bay mob maybe bigger than it ever!? Alby thinks he finally knows what it feels like to be a “footballer.” Housty says it was the most impressive sight he’s seen in three Volvo Ocean Races. Nick imagines it as busy or busier than Newport in the 80’s, during the America’s Cup glory days his father always reminisces about. It was almost overwhelming--the energy and enthusiasm that everyone showed for this little event of ours--and even if just for a few hours you made us feel like rock stars. Thank you!!

We are so proud of Newport, of sailing in America, and for the unrivaled passion and excitement that we all experienced during our short stay there. Sailing is alive and well in the Ocean State and while we of course relish the return to racing, it was very, very, hard to say goodbye.

On a personal note, I was blown away by the amount of kids walking through the village, and by how much they knew. Even a surprised Will, dressed in plainclothes and very much hoping to fly under the radar, was stopped to the tune of Mr. Oxley and a cheering class of 4th graders. I am out here because I love sailing and because I love sharing our adventures, and to meet so many young kids who are following along, who say they want to someday grow up to sail in this race, and who ask the guys only one question: how do I get to where you are? It makes everything that we do worthwhile. To inspire others is as worthy a task as there ever was.”   Follow Team ALVIMEDICA's sailing experiences here.   Watch this sailing video clip- “Inspiring the Next Generation of Sailors”.

Is Ken Read worth his sailing salt??

(Newport, RI)-  Maybe.  More importantly, he took a graceful dive worthy of an Olympic Gold Medalist diver!  How did that happen, one might ask??  The President of North Sails taking a dive into the freezing cold salt water of Narragansett Bay?

Well, some clever people at Sailors for the Sea dreamt up the crazy idea to get sailors to donate cash to their organization to support the Sailors for the Sea's “No Trash No Trail No Trace” campaign and get North Sails President Ken Read to jump off Volvo Ocean Race boat Team Brunel at Leg 7 start!

In the end, the donation goal was matched and sure enough, Ken hopped into a comfy drysuit and just after passing Castle Hill Light, he jumped off the transom of the Volvo 65  Team BRUNEL- not a bad dive for a card-carrying member of the A.A.R.P.!

22 To Many Sailing Newport- Volvo Ocean Race!

(Newport, RI)- “22 Too Many” is volunteer organization that helps American war veterans adapt & re-integrate into society.

In Newport, these veterans had a great time at the Volvo Ocean Race Village and, more importantly, they had a chance to socialize with real ocean-racing sailors and sail with them on the fleet of Sail Newport’s J/22s off Fort Adams.

Their experience was highlighted here in this sweet sailing video.   Watch the “22 Too Many” YouTube sailing video here:

Barkow & Enright- Volvo Sailing Perspectives

(Newport, RI)- Both Sally Barkow and Charlie Enright were happy to arrive in Newport after completing their long leg in the Volvo Ocean Race from Itajai, Brazil to Newport.  Sally (a J/22 and J/24 sailor and top woman Match Racer from Neenah, Wisconsin) is sailing as one of the skippers on Team SCA and Charlie (J/24 champion and Fleet #50 champion) is sailing as skipper of Team ALVIMEDICA.  We had a chance to chat with them at the New York YC Harbour Court Commissioning Ceremony, presided over by Reverend Mary Johnstone.

Both sailors are completing a weeks worth of festivities in Newport, RI and are preparing for their assault on the last long distance leg of the 2014/ 2015 Volvo Ocean Race.  Both have credited the discipline and focus they learned as one-design sailors against the world’s best competition as a solid base on which to build their offshore capabilities.  Both are sailing on teams that are relative novices at the offshore racing game, at least compared to the considerable talent arrayed against them on boats such as Abu Dhabi Racing and Dong Feng Racing teams.

Ironically, it’s another champion J/24 sailor from the United Kingdom, Ian Walker, who is capitalizing on his experience both in one-design and offshore to be the current fleet leader as the skipper of Abu Dhabi.  It seems that both Abu Dhabi and Dong Feng both have “third gears” that no one else have seemed to discover when any of the boats are in a “close reaching/ power beating” scenario.

As Charlie himself commented, “when we have VMG upwind or VMG downwind on any leg we seem to have the right modes and sail cross-over choices.  At least we can hang with the leaders.  However, in just plain jib/ J1/ C0 reaching situations, we just bleed miles away.  We are still learning how to use the ‘reaching strut’ on the clews and to double or triple slot the headsails.”  Sally pretty much echoed Charlie’s perspectives, except to say that, “we are on a HUGE learning curve and on the last leg there were several times we felt like we were in the hunt! It’s tough out there, but we’re lovin’ it!”

More news soon as they head off onto their Saturday Inshore Race in Narragansett Bay and their start off Fort Adams to begin their journey across the Big Pond to Portugal.  Follow their progress here on the Volvo Ocean Race site.

Newport's Volvo Ocean Race Champion- Brad Read

(Newport, RI)- Welcome to the Adventure!  With the Volvo Ocean Race fleet completing their leg from Brazil to Newport, USA this past week, creating a world-class welcome has required the work of a world-class shore team. Brad Read, the Executive Director of Sail Newport (overseeing the fleet of thirteen J/22s), is also the director of the Volvo Ocean Race Newport Stopover.

This is a welcome that has been more than two years in the making. Read has been focused on a million little details, and as a former College Sailor of the Year, J/40 cruising yacht owner and J/24 World Champion, he has used everything he learned on the water to prepare this event on land.

He said, “This stopover represents two years of work, with the bid process for everything from security to concessions to creating great interactive exhibits featuring the health of the ocean. We had eight subcommittees with the primary focus of making the event great, from creating a sustainable green event, to the marine side, to making sure boaters are safe, to logistics and concessions.”

The Volvo Ocean Race village is made up of 100 containers that were shipped from Auckland, New Zealand to Philadelphia, Pa. From there, the containers were trucked to Newport. Cranes carefully place each one in its precise spot.

“It’s like a giant game of Jenga,” said Read. He cannot do this job alone, and his shore crew is as accomplished as any bowman aboard a race boat.

Before he submitted Newport’s stopover bid, Read made sure a woman known as “Suma” was on his team. The race village manager, Sue Maffei Plowden from Jamestown, RI, stands just 5’ 4” tall but is a giant in the world of international sailing event management.

A graduate of URI, Suma ran the America’s Cup World Series in Newport in 2012 and has played an instrumental role in making sure Newport is prepared before the arrival of the race boats. “She has an amazing way of getting things done,” said Read.

Suma, who has produced America’s Cup and Volvo Ocean Race events all over the world, is thrilled to be working in her own backyard. She said, “This is such a fantastic venue. The sailors love Newport. It’s historic and unique, there’s nothing really like it.”

For the past two months, the preparations for the Newport Stopover have been nonstop. More than anything, the hometown sailors hope to see you in the village for their arrival. Except for Alvimedica reporter Amory Ross. As soon as he hits the shore, he’s making a beeline over to Newport Creamery for an Awful Awful, and then to Dunkin’ for an extra-large coffee and two glazed doughnuts.

Thanks for contribution from Joe Berkeley, Newport This Week

Volvo Ocean Race- The Charlie Enright Update

(Sanya, Hainan, China)- Charlie has been a world-class J/24 sailor from Newport, Rhode Island and has assembled an all-star cast of sailors to power TEAM ALVIMEDICA in the 2014-2015 VOLVO OCEAN RACE.  After the third leg, Charlie had a chance to provide some perspectives on what amounts to a “giant J/24 one-design race” across oceans.

After winning the first In-Port race, TEAM ALVIMEDICA felt ready for the Volvo Ocean Race to begin, but legs one and two would show them otherwise. So the team got to work, assessing their onboard operations and looked hard at how other boats were set-up.  Improving throughout the race is vital for success, and TEAM ALVIMEDICA took a positive step by finishing third in leg three from Abu Dhabi to Sanya. Scuttlebutt Newsletter Editor, Craig Leweck, checks in with Charlie for an update on their progress:

SN: To what do you attribute your progress?

CE: It really is a lot of small things, but for starters, my relationship with our navigator Will Oxley is definitely strengthening. We’re learning how to play off each other, what our strengths and weaknesses are, how best to allocate our time. It is important that we can be decisive when needed, and this leg showed that for us.

Along the Pakistani Coast, we didn’t have a problem breaking from the group and being the first guys to lead offshore, which proved to be a good move on the fleet. When in the Malacca Strait, we caught ourselves confidently leading in directions as opposed to just hedging, which was a healthy change. Going out of Singapore we positioned ourselves amid the fleet so we could sail a mode that we think is one of our strengths upwind and breeze. And then when short tacking along Vietnamese coast, we again made gains in a situation where a leg ago I don’t think we would have fared nearly as well..

Our progress is due to the systems now in place, the allocation of resources, the way we managed the watch system, the stack… everything. We went in with a battle plan and we were able to execute it with efficiency and confidence.

SN: Good decision making is usually a result of being fast? Or, not?

CE: I think it’s very situation-dependent. We still have our speed issues in light air running, and tend to slip back when the conditions don’t suit our strengths. But nobody’s fast as Dongfeng in under 13 knots with the A3, which is what allowed them to jump ahead into their own weather to win leg three. We can also learn from Brunel which is quite good with the masthead zero, and Abu Dhabi is very well-rounded and perpetually fast, which allows them to execute conservative tactics.

SN: Which team are you most curious about?

CE: Right now you’d have to say Dongfeng. They break the most stuff….are they pushing the hardest? Is it the certain set-ups they have? I think everybody is most curious about what they have going on.

SN: Each team is required to use the Automatic Identification System (AIS), how can this help with boat speed improvement?

CE: It certainly doesn’t hurt, but all it really tells you is whether you’re fast or slow. As long as we are within range of another boat (8-10 miles), we can use AIS to remain in touch to measure performance, but then it is on us to sort out the reasons for speed differences.

If you’re going upwind in 18 knots and you’re gaining on everybody, then you know you got a good mode and should record those settings. Just the same, if you’re going downwind with the A3 and you’re slow, then that’s where you got to put in your time. That’s where you’ve got to figure it out. AIS will tell us another boat’s direction and speed, but not what sails they are using, where their stack is, how their tanks are filled, etc.

SN:  Nevertheless, making progress must feel good?

CE:  Our strength right now is stable sailing and this past leg had pretty light conditions, so posting our best finish result in conditions that are not our strength is very positive. There were times along the Indian coast when we were hemorrhaging miles all the way south, so the light air running is an area we must work on. But by grinding it out and staying in touch, we gave ourselves the opportunity to make some pretty good navigational and tactical decisions as we got to some of the various features of the latter part of the leg, and by doing those things confidently is what helped us separate ourselves towards the end of it. But we still have a lot of work to do.

The tag line of this race for us is everybody has to deal with the same variables. It’s the one-design system and the shared maintenance boatyard concept. Everybody is given the same tools and everybody is racing on the same course. So despite the elements of randomness, and leg three had a lot of randomness, it’s random for everybody and each team takes a turn at getting kicked. And despite the conditions, the boats that sailed the best, finished the best in this particular leg regardless of what the obstacles were. But we want to consistently be one of those boats.

SN:  You mention elements of randomness… can you share some of the randomness you encountered on leg three.

CE:  Short-tacking up the Vietnamese coast, you look west and you’d see a bunch of lights and you’re like, “Okay, that makes sense, that’s land.” And then you’d look to the east and you see a bunch of lights and you’re like, “There’s that many fisherman out here? That is absolutely insane.” And we saw a mother ship with these guys floating in what looked like a basket with an oar, and they were all fishing. We’re bombing along at 12 knots and these floaters have only a flashlight to defend themselves. I think for us, that’s scary because it’s like, “What can I do for this guy if I hit him?”

But the biggest concern was the commercial traffic, the heavy metal. A big merchant ship that’s going 20 knots in the Malacca Strait, and we’re drifting at .5 knots and unable to get them on the radio. That makes it hard for me to sleep. Running over a fishing net, yeah, that’s annoying. There’s so many of them, everyone’s going to have their turn.

All in all, the course was pretty crazy, so for all the teams to get through unscathed is pretty remarkable.

Background: The 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race began in Alicante, Spain on Oct. 11 with the final finish on June 27 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Racing the new one design Volvo Ocean 65, seven teams will be scoring points in 9 offshore legs to determine the overall Volvo Ocean Race winner. Additionally, the teams will compete in 10 In-Port races at each stopover for a separate competition – the Volvo Ocean Race In-Port Series. The fourth leg, from Sanya, China to Auckland, New Zealand (5,264 nm), begins Feb. 8 with an ETA of Feb. 25- Mar. 5. Volvo Ocean Race website here.

Enright's Team ALVIMEDICA Sailing VOR Leg 1

(Alicante, Spain)- Charlie Enright and Team ALVIMEDICA  have started the Volvo Ocean Race off Alicante, Spain and they are now five days into their first 6,500+nm Leg #1.  They successfully navigated the Straits of Gibraltar and, needless to say, they are enjoying a real one-design race with dramatic swings taking place nearly hourly as the duel with the six other contenders for the race lead.  They’ve gone from 1st to 5th, then back to 1st more times than you can remember.  Epic, drama-filled days, creating enormous anxieties for the navigators making new “calls” just about every hour (often less!). 

It’s turning into a mind-numbing game of nerves as each crew “bobs & weaves” through the fleet and whatever the wind Gods deliver to them as they play gybing angles downwind off the coast of Africa.  For many, it’s been a maddeningly frustrating start to the race as they are now past the Canary Islands and sailing on a southwest course along the African coastline towards their next mark off Recife, Brazil.  Unlike the last race, this time the whole fleet took the “classic” trading ship route down along the coast of Africa before going hunting for the offshore tradewinds.  Also sailing fast is the J/80 superstar sailor from Spain, Iker Martinez on MAPFRE and J/24 ace Ian Walker from Great Britain leading Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing!   Follow the Volvo 65s racing “J/One—Design style” around the world here on the live tracker.

Enright's ALVIMEDICA Draws Wins Volvo Inshore Race #1!

(Alicante, Spain)- Charlie Enright and Team ALVIMEDICA Wins Volvo Ocean Race Inshore #1!!  If you recall, Charlie Enright sailed J/24s forever in the Newport J/24 Fleet #50 and was a champion competitor.  Fast forward to today, Charlie raced a TP52 in the Transpac Race in the Roy Disney-made movie called MORNING LIGHT.  Incredibly, in their first official race in the 2014-2015 Volvo Ocean Race, Charlie and crew won the around-the-buoys contest!  Shades of J/24 days, eh?!!  Congratulations to their team (that also includes Newport locals Amory Ross and Nick Dana) and the J/Boats family wish them well.  Also sailing fast was J/80 superstar sailor from Spain, Iker Martinez (a J/80 Spanish Champion)!

The start on Saturday, October 11th, will occur at 0730 hrs Newport time (East Coast)- the host for Newporters for this epic occasion is the Newport Yacht Club.  Watch the Volvo 65s racing “dinghy-style” on this YouTube sailing video

Sally Barkow- From J/22s to Volvo Ocean Race 65s!

(Neenah, Wisconsin)- Sally Barkow: From inland lakes to open oceans, from Optis and J/22s to Volvo 65 ocean greyhounds!  It’s as long way from Neenah, Wisconsin to sailing offshore in the Volvo Ocean Race.  But, having grown up sailing Optis, raced for years on J/22s, Sally Barkow has now stepped into the limelight on the biggest stage imaginable!

You could say that Sally has been taking steps toward the Volvo Ocean Race all her life. Now 34 years old, her road from learning to sail on scows in Wisconsin would take her to the international Olympic and match race circuit, with her successes earning her the US Rolex Yachtswomen of the Year award in 2005 and 2007.

After competing for the US team in the keelboat event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and missing out on the match racing event at the 2012 Games, the next step, albeit a big step, was offshore racing. When Team SCA proposed an all-women’s crew for the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race, Sally answered the call:

“It was an opportunity of a lifetime which I couldn’t miss out on, made possible by this team forming, and I just knew I had to be a part of it. Coming from an Olympic background, it was a big decision to shift gears into offshore racing but it is such a new challenge for me and something I have wanted to do for a long time.

My roots are in lake sailing which is really good at preparing you for short course and unpredictable wind. And it also teaches an incredible level of patience. I was not sure how these skills were going to transform into ocean racing but I was surprised to learn that sometimes patience and the ability to read unpredictable winds are really valuable skills to have on the ocean, in offshore racing.

I knew the boat was going to be totally new to me as I had always sailed smaller boats, so coming with an open mind and trying to learn as fast as possible was my priority. I think it has also helped that the Volvo 65’s are completely new to everyone so we all had to start from scratch and work together in figuring out the most efficient ways to sail these boats.

There has been endless learning about the boat inside and out. Also working with such a large team makes it possible to focus on your specific role and trust that others are doing the same; that way we will be as strong as possible by the start of the race. The program managers took their time to be sure to sign the correct people and have the right mix of team players. I think we have come out with a very committed and strong team of people.

There have been countless lessons to get to where we are now, but I think the really exciting lessons are still to come once we begin racing!”   Follow Sally, Team SCA and the rest of the Volvo Ocean Race here.

Team Alvemedica Training Update

(Newport, RI)- The Volvo Ocean Race may not officially start until October, but this isn't stopping Team Alvimedica and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing from engaging in a 'friendly delivery' thanks to some special permission from the race organizers. According to reports, the two teams organized a 'promotional start' out of Newport, Rhode Island on Wednesday that was enjoyed by hundreds of spectators. Both boats are bound for the UK, with Team Alvimedica destined for Southampton and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing bound for Gosport.

“It's not easy to leave friends and family behind but it is time to get out and go sailing,” said Charlie Enright, skipper of Team Alvimedica (a champion Newport J/24 sailor).  “While we have achieved a lot in our month here in Newport, we now need to maximize our time at sea together as a team.”

The next time that either Team Alvimedica or Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing sail into Newport Harbor will be during the actual Volvo Ocean Race stopover, so this was obviously a big moment for both teams, especially the American- and Turkish-flagged Team Alvimedica, whose skipper is a proud Newport-area local.

J/24 sailor Charlie Enright sailing Volvo Ocean Race

(Newport, RI)- It's true!  Local Newport J/24 sailor Charlie Enright will be sailing the Volvo Ocean Race on TEAM ALVIMEDICA!  The dream goes back to their first meeting on the set of a Disney sailing movie. Seven years later, Charlie Enright and Mark Towill’s vision of a round the world race campaign is coming true as the two friends enter the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 with TEAM ALVIMEDICA.

Aged 29, Charlie Enright recently married, lives in Rhode Island. Mark Towill is 26, a kid from Kaneohe, Hawaii. They attended university together. Both are friendly and easy-going - they could be your next-door neighbors. Except, these guys are going to race around the world in the next Volvo Ocean Race. That’s something your neighbor will not be doing – and these two have dreamt about it and worked to make it happen for a long time.

“We were part of the Morning Light project with Walt Disney in 2006,” said Enright. “I met Mark during the trials for that – we both considered that project to be the beginning of our ocean sailing dream, which is the Volvo Ocean Race.”

The reality film “Morning Light” followed a group of young sailors on their cross-Pacific boat voyage on an old TP52. Inspired by their Volvo mentors, the two friends then went on to set up their own company, All-American Ocean Racing. To build their Volvo Ocean Race profile, they sailed transatlantic and Fastnet races as an all under-30 American syndicate.

Their dream began to take shape when the race CEO Knut Frostad invited the pair to Alicante for the start of the last edition in October 2011. “It’s not been easy by any means despite the great start we had with the Disney movie,” said Towill. “We’ve spent long hours treading the sidewalks trying to get a break and it’s been all about making our own opportunities. We’ve also had a lot of help from many, many people making this become a reality.”

After dropping most other commitments in the search for a title sponsor, Enright and Towill finally found an innovative medical devices company from Turkey – ALVIMEDICA – to back up their project.  This ambitious young company is the perfect match for a team that aims to have a crew mostly drawn from a pool of sailors under 30.

Now that the entry is officially announced, it’s time to start building a team and to launch their Volvo Ocean 65. Together with their greatly experienced CEO Bill Erkelens (who recently raced J/70s in the Rolex Big Boat Series in San Francisco), they need to recruit a crew and start training.

A seven-year dream is coming true for American sailors; it’s exciting news for the USA sailing community which will carefully follow the American Team, who also will be the only "under 30" team in the ocean marathon.

Sail Newport, supported by Fidelity Investments, will have a presentation to be held on Thursday, February 13 at 5:30 p.m. to debut the team's plans to prepare for the grueling "Mount Everest of sailing" ocean race which will circumnavigate the globe.  The event takes place at the Jane Pickens Theater on Washington Square, Newport, RI. Tickets can be purchased online at sailnewport.org.  You can also contact- katie.barker@sailnewport.org

The event will feature dynamic on-screen footage of the race, information on the team, the boats, the stopovers and how the Newport community can plan a homecoming for the predominantly American team.

Team ALVIMEDICA will be joining Team SCA (with fellow American Sally Barkow onboard- also a J/22 & J24 sailor), Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, Dongfeng Race Team and Team Brunel in the race which will be contested over 38,739 nautical miles and nine months. The race starts in October in Alicante, Spain and finishes in Gothenburg, Sweden in June of 2015. The only North American stop over will take place May 5-17, 2015. The boats will arrive in Newport from a stopover in Itajai, Brazil and will depart Newport on May 17, 2015 for the Transatlantic race leg to Lisbon, Portugal. For more Volvo Ocean Race sailing information.

Women's Volvo Team Selects Sally Barkow

(Southampton, England)- Congratulations to Sally Barkow- she’s the latest women sailing superstar to be sailing Volvo One-Design 65s on TEAM SCA- the only women’s Volvo Ocean Race team! The former Olympian, long-time J/22 and J/24 sailor, and match-racing ace has been selected to sail aboard the all-women's TEAM SCA in the next Volvo Ocean Race. According to reports, Barkow and the other members of TEAM SCA have undergone rigorous tryout and team-sailing sessions to ensure both the right set of sailing skills and the correct blend of personalities make it onboard the team's race boat.

“This is definitely really exciting,” commented Barkow. “I feel that SCA is providing an incredible opportunity here to compete on an equal level with the other teams in this race. There are only nine months left to the start, so we are really now on the home straight and have everything to train and play for.”

'Team SCA' is slated to remain at their training base in Lanzarote, Spain, where they are enjoying a two-boat program, a great coaching staff and other training resources. Also, the team plans to enter some longer distance races prior to the start of their around-the-world adventure this fall.  Sailing photo credit for Volvo 65 one-design- Rick Tomlinson.

Tribute to Dutch Sailor- Conny van Rietschoten

(The Hague, Netherlands)- Dutch sailor Conny van Rietschoten was a true pioneer in the sport of sailing.  As the only skipper to have won the Volvo Ocean Race (formerly the Whitbread Round the World Race) twice, Conny van Rietschoten (87 years) died on Tuesday (Dec. 17) at his residence in Portugal after suffering a stroke.  Born on March 23 in 1926, Van Rietschoten grew up in The Netherlands. A successful businessman, he was looking for a new challenge and found it in the second edition of the Whitbread.

He skippered Flyer I (S&S 65) in 1977-78, holding off main rival Kings Legend to win the race on corrected time. He returned in 1981-82 and again won on overall time with Flyer II (Frers 76) after a thrilling neck-and-neck battle with Kiwi adversaries Ceramco New Zealand.

Known for undertaking extensive crew training before the race, he identified and gave several then-young sailors their first major break into professional sailing, including Erle Williams, Grant Dalton, Joe Allen all of whom went on to long careers in the Whitbread and Volvo Ocean Races, America’s Cup and other professional events.

For crew morale, training and team-building, Conny famously bought two J/24s to keep at their training base in the Netherlands.  The FLYER crews were often seen on J/24s in all types of weather conditions, testing the limits of the crews as well as the boats!  It was not unusual to see them out in full gales with reefed mains and jibs pulling up spinnakers sailing just offshore in the English Channel!  We’re sorry to hear of Conny’s passing and wish his family and friends well.

Rick Deppe- Volvo Ocean Race media guru & J/Sailor delivers VOR65

(London, England)-  Once upon a time, Ricky was learning the ropes of the yachting world back in 1990.  As a lad from deep in the Midlands of the UK, he managed through serendipity and connections with amazingly nice guys like Richard Mason from Lymington (then at North Sails UK) to connect with leaders in the sailing world.  His intersection with the J/World was to be captain of the J/44 J-HAWK for a period of time (Winner of the 1990 Cowes Week CHS 1 Class and Overall Performance Boat of the Week!), then later other J/Boats teams and then videographer for Discovery Channels "Most Dangerous Jobs" program filming Alaskan king crab fishermen in the Gulf of Alaska. Yes. Ricky is a cool, incredibly nice guy with kids who sailed the Orange Bowl Regatta in Miami over Christmas and all those other things that sailing Dad's are supposed to do!

Ricky is still at it pioneering all manner of how to "bring it live" the Volvo Ocean Race to the world's couch potatoes, armchair navigators and tacticians who all know better!  Working with the Volvo Ocean Race crew, he's now looking after a unique concept in offshore sailing at a "grand prix" level-- uhhhh, one-design Volvo J/65s? Ooops, typo? Perhaps not! The concept was first introduced to the old Whitbread Race mafia back when Sir Peter Blake had just won with the IOR Maxi STEINLAGER.  Peter subsequently teamed up with UBF Finland's Team Manager Mark Musgrove and J/Boats' Rodney & Stu Johnstone to create the "J/Team"-- a 65 foot multi-tasking offshore grand prix racer in 1992 over 20 years ago.  The world does take time to adopt to such revolutionary ideas.  Thank Goodness it's now happening. As an interesting aside, the J/105 hull/sprit concept was an outgrowth of that partnership in 1992-- pioneering the entire sprit revolution as the world knows it today!

Today, we now see Ricky, in no small part of that evolution now looking after the first Volvo Ocean 65 hull.  As he describes it, "the Volvo truck towing it, its driver and three attendees have been on the road for five days now. They left the Persico factory in Bergamo, Italy, this past Friday. They are taking the ferry today from Hook of Holland to Harwich and the crossing from the Netherlands to the UK will take them six hours. The convoy is expecting to arrive at Green Marine in Southampton, tomorrow at lunchtime.

Once in the English boatyard, the hull will be put together with the other elements of the very first One Design boat to be sailed in the next two editions of the race.

But that’s for later. The 65-foot long structure is still traveling across a snowy northern Europe. It is quite a spectacle as the heavy load, taking up two lanes of highway, displays the slogan 'Coming soon to an ocean near you' on the side of the hull.

'It’s really tiring but it’s really fun. It’s just a massive adventure!' says Ricky, who is on the road to report this momentous journey.

'Paul Hamels is driving the lorry. We call him the "Flying Dutchman". He drives a lot of boats and big machinery. His life is quite comparable to that of the sailors. He has an unusual job and is away from home for a really long time. He works very unusual hours.

'He is almost the helmsman of the boat at the moment. When you’re helming a Volvo boat, it’s a lot of responsibility. Well, when you’re driving an exceptional convoy, it’s a lot of responsibility, too. You cannot just turn and go too fast. He plays it pretty cool.'

Hamels may be used to these unusual deliveries but that doesn’t make the trip an easy cruise. The snow in Europe has been slowing the convoy down in Germany, but they made it on time to the ferry nonetheless.

'The other truck drivers have asked Paul what was going on,' adds Rick. 'You see people slowing down and taking pictures. You know, it’s pretty important and we’re going to do it at least seven more times!'

Follow Ricky's Volvo 65 journey here!  http://www.volvooceanrace.com/

J/24 Sailors Bring Volvo Race to Newport!

(Newport, RI)- What do past J/24 World Champions do when they're not sailing?  Simple, bring the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015 to Newport.  That's exactly what Brad Read, Executive Director of Sail Newport did this past week (his brother Kenny is now President of North Sails). Actually, it took months of hard labor and a bit of luck, e.g. "third time's a charm", so to speak.  On Tuesday, February 5th, Governor Lincoln Chafee (himself a J/100 owner and passionate J/Sailor) and Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad announced that Newport, Rhode Island will host its first Volvo Ocean Race after winning a stop on the route of the 12th edition of sailing's premier round-the-world challenge in 2014-15.

"We have made significant strategic land and marine infrastructure improvements at Fort Adams State Park, paving the way for a new era of racing in Rhode Island and setting the stage for the world-class events we continue to host," said Governor Lincoln Chafee. "We had a positive experience with the America's Cup World Series last summer, and I look forward to welcoming the Volvo Ocean Race to Rhode Island. These large-scale sailing events draw impressive numbers of visitors to our state - visitors who make valuable contributions to our economy."

The Race will reach Newport, one of the world's sailing capitals, in around May 2015 after a stop in Itajai, Brazil. Newport is the last stop before teams will sail across the Atlantic for the final legs around Europe. The Volvo Ocean Race has visited the U.S. in every edition since 1997-98, but despite Newport's great sailing heritage, it has never before had "Host Port" status.

"The Volvo Ocean Race is one of the premiere sailing events in the world. We look forward to welcoming the sailors, the sponsors and particularly the fans of this great race to our magnificent port," said Brad Read, Executive Director of Sail Newport. "With the race working its way around the world, it will build to a crescendo as it arrives in Newport, R.I. We can't wait."  The Race will finish in Gothenburg, Sweden in summer 2015.