First leg finished
There were some tense moments on the final approach to Lisbon, but Vestas 11th Hour Racing is across the line for a fantastic Leg 1 win.
Photography by Jesus Renedo/Volvo Ocean Race
30 October 2017
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Vestas 11th Hour Racing have won Leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race, crossing the finish line in the River Tagus in Lisbon, Portugal on Saturday afternoon.
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, but the current in the river even pushing the leaders back out to sea in some of the lulls.
But the crew on the Vestas boat held their nerve, tacking first up and then down, zigzagging towards the line, into agonisingly light headwinds.
“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.”
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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 try not to get too high or too low,” Enright said just after crossing the line. “We want to keep coming to work every day hungry to improve… “
“One of the things we were focusing on was our decision making and communications on board and that’s coming along well… But there’s a lot of work to be done. We won’t rest on our laurels!”
The light conditions near the shore are forecast to slow the pace of the Spanish MAPFRE team, which is expected to finish some two hours behind the winners.
We’ll have reaction and stories from all of the teams as the finish Leg 1 and arrive into Lisbon.
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