Team Delta Lloyd in third place on the podium after the In-Port race in Rio. Image copyright David Branigan/Oceansport.
by Yvo Janssen and Diana Bogaards
On Saturday April 4 2009, Team Delta Lloyd took its first podium finish in the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09. The Dutch/Irish entry finished third in the In-Port Race in Rio de Janeiro/Brazil, won by Telefonica Blue of Bouwe Bekking (NED). Skipper Roberto Bermúdez de Castro (ESP) and his crew showed renewed strength and eagerness after missing the last two legs. The team's effort to comeback strongly paid off today. After a two hour postponement, the sea breeze picked up to 7-10 knots and one race could be finished.
"It was a fantastic day with excellent tactics by André Fonseca and Marcelo Ferreira", said Bermúdez de Castro enthusiastically minutes before the prize giving. He praised the great team work of his sailors and the people onshore: "This is one step, but it is still not the finish line. However, it is very important to everybody. They all worked hard. It was a good call of Tom Touber (NED) to ship the boat to Rio and get it repaired properly. Killian Bushe (IRL) and his men did an incredible job and so did Mike Danks (NZL) and his shore crew, logistics and marketing. The coaches Maurice Paardenkooper and local Walter Böddener were a big help. North Sails New-Zealand delivered fast sails, so yes I am happy."
Start of the Light In-Port race in Rio. Image copyright Rick Tomlinson/Volvo Ocean Race.
André Fonseca (BRA)
"This is a team result", commented Fonseca on the jetty. "Everybody pushed hard to get the boat ready. We have had some tough legs before, but we gained new power. Now we know we can battle the fleet. Chuny made a good start and we tried to avoid fights. We sailed our own race." He smiles and looks up to the famous Christ statue on the Corcovado mountain: "We asked the big guy up there for some help and we got it. For sure our team sailed better than the others today, but we need to improve on keeping the boat speed up. Once we have achieved that, we might be able to win a race."
According to Stu Wilson (NZL) it makes a difference on any boat to have Marcelo Ferreira and André Fonseca as a duo together again: "They did a brilliant job."
Crucially, Delta Lloyd just crosses Ericsson 3 and Ericsson 4 at the mark. Image copyright David Branigan/Oceansport.
Short Race Report
Bermúdez de Castro took a good start at the committee boat above Ericsson 4, that came off the line slightly faster. "But we could hold our course and we were at the favorite site of the fleet, where Bochecha wanted to position us", said newcomer Ben Costello (AUS). Delta Lloyd were sixth to hoist the spinnaker and carried on to the far right side of the course, along with Telefonica Blue. The rest of the competitors went to the left corner.
Delta Lloyd, skippered by Roberto Bermudez (ESP) finish third in the Light In-port Race in the Volvo Ocean Race in Rio de Janeiro. Image copyright Dave Kneale/Volvo Ocean Race.
Telefonica Blue gained three places on the run and took over the lead at the right-hand gate mark, followed by Delta Lloyd. Puma rounded the left buoy a fraction later and passed Delta Lloyd halfway through the beat on the lay-line. Ericsson 4 with local hero Torben Grael on the helm closed the gap to Delta Lloyd, but it wasn't enough to master his Star crew Marcelo Ferreira (BRA) onboard of Delta Lloyd. After docking in the Marina da Gloria, Grael displayed his sportsmanship and congratulated the Delta Lloyd sailors.
Congratulations on board at the finish of the In-Port race. Image copyright David Branigan/Oceansport.
By taking the third position, Team Delta Lloyd earns three points.
In addition to title sponsor Delta Lloyd, the Dutch/Irish syndicate is also supported by Chieftain Group, Tommy Hilfiger, OHRA Verzekeringen, Port of Rotterdam, Discovery Channel, Weather News and Hemels van der Hart.
Team Delta Lloyd
Volvo Ocean Race
No comments:
Post a Comment