Forty-eight hours before the start of the penultimate leg of The Ocean Race and the tactical nature of this leg is starting to come into focus. From complex coastlines to detailed traffic separation zones, tides, sea breezes and wind farms to avoid, there is plenty on teams’ minds.

The start on 8 June also sees the return of the VO65 fleet for the next two legsforThe Ocean Race VO65 Sprint. Last seen on Leg 1 from Alicante to Cabo Verde, several of the five teams have seen crew changes for this phase of the race. 

Today’s press conference saw all 10 skippers on stage to provide their thoughts ahead of this complex stage of the race.

© Sailing Energy / The Ocean Race

IMOCA

Charlie Enright - 11th Hour Racing Team (USA):

I think what's kind of helped spark our turnaround is that we've sailed aggressively and we've turned a blind eye to the competition. The scores are still close and we have two different challenging legs ahead but we're definitely sailing to win, we're not sailing to not lose. So, I think that the same level of risk is going to exist in these next few legs as has existed in the legs previous. We're going to come out aggressive, try to sail our own race and hopefully the results end up like they have in the last two legs and not the first couple of legs. 

But, you know, the leg we're about to go do is 800 miles. It's three days, it's very different than what we've done in the past and in a lot of ways it's like a Figaro race of sorts. And as I look to my right there's plenty of Figaro experience here, so we're keenly aware of that. But it's also a leg that you can do a lot of studying for. There are more exclusion zones, more marks, more everything. So regardless of what the weather is, there's a lot to bone up on and we've been studying that and trying to make sure we're rested and mentally and physically prepared.  

Benjamin Schwartz - Team Holcim-PRB (SUI):

The plan is very simple, we want to win the leg and it's more about how we can achieve that with our cards. Obviously, we've got a great team on the boat, three Figaro sailors and also Abby Ehler who has a great knowledge of the boat and she's going to have a key role for the next leg. But we have a lack of crew training compared to the other teams which have been sailing together for four legs, so of course it's going to be a challenge for us to achieve what we want and need to achieve. 

If we are not in front of the other boats for the next week, then it's all about the Grand Casino in Genova and we don't want that. I'd say that here we have switched from a from a hunted position to a hunter position and obviously we want to be good hunters. It's going to be about sailing well, doing proper manoeuvres, not breaking anything and not making any mistakes in terms of navigation, because it's going to be very tricky.  

© Sailing Energy / The Ocean Race

Boris Herrmann (GER) - Team Malizia:

We're super excited to sail through German waters. From the beautiful fjord of Kiel leading to downtown in the city, big thanks to the organisers for pulling off this ambitious plan, which is certainly not easy for the race director. Hopefully if the fleet comes in as a very compact group this will add an extra challenge. It's also fantastic to see the support from the German sailing fans, so big thanks to the Germans who also came here to Aarhus.  

Could he give his follow competitors any advice for his local waters?

Yes, I think you should be ready a little bit ahead of time. Plan early to peel to the smaller J3 and maybe put in one or two reefs. Be careful in the fjord some gusts that come down from the forests and some swirling currents, it's dangerous waters!

Paul Meilhat - Biotherm (FRA):
I think we've broken all we can on the boat so I think now we are more confident for the two next legs. I have two Figaro specialists for the next leg with Alan Roberts and Anthony Marchand. I think Biotherm is a good boat for this kind of race and maybe we can play with the three first boats more than we did on the two last legs. That would be really good news for the race and for us.  

© Sailing Energy / The Ocean Race

Benjamin Dutreux - GUYOT environnement - Team Europe (FRA/GER):
We have had many options since losing the mast and one of them was to retire from the race. But we got a lot of help from a lot of people including all the other teams here who have really helped us a lot. That meant we could make the decision to try to get back in the race. The boat will arrive in Aarhus tomorrow Wednesday) night. We are very touched by the help that we've got, it’s been pretty emotional for us. 

But now we can't wait to keep fighting with the other teams team and to try to do our best like we have done since the beginning. 

VO65 

Roberto 'Chuny' Bermúdez de Castro - Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team (DEN):
It's great to be in Aarhus. It's particularly good for us, especially for me and Bouwe Bekking to come back into this class this Spring. As always with this class it is a good opportunity to race against the other teams with the same tools. We also have young people with new blood coming into the class. 

Jelmer van Beek - Team JAJO (NED):
I think we have a really nice mix of sailors in our team. We have two new additions, ILCA World Champion Nicholas Heiner and our Danish Olympic 49er champion Martin Kirketerp. So, we are really happy to have those two guys on board. We've been ready for five years to compete in The Ocean Race and in the meantime doing we’ve been doing heaps of sailing on the VO65 so I would call my team the hungry team. We are hungry to race and especially towards the Hague, our hometown.

© Sailing Energy / The Ocean Race

Erik Brockmann - Viva México (MEX):
It's a huge pride to have Mexico back into the race. Actually, when we first started thinking about this race the original race winner Sayula was almost 50 years before and was the push for us to see if we could make a comeback. Hopefully it takes much less time to have another Mexican team in the race. We are looking forward to have the Carlin family joining us in in Genova and hopefully they'll be helming in the Legends race.  

Pablo Arrarte - WindWhisper Racing Team (POL) :
I think the next leg is going to be very tricky. We have had some experienced people on board and then also some young people that have been on board that have sailed a lot on the boat. They have been on board for the last two years. So, while they are young they have a lot of experience, so I think all that will help a lot to be able to fight to stay in front.

Gerwin Jansen - Austrian Ocean Racing powered by Team Genova (AUT/ITA) :
We had a good couple of days of training here in Aarhus and we have a couple of new young sailors again, our youngest is 22. The team is set now for the next month and we are looking forward to it.  

Matthew Sheahan

www.theoceanrace.com

Cover photo © Sailing Energy / The Ocean Race