Volvo Ocean Race: Dongfeng were the first-ever Chinese stage winners. (Photo : Reuters)
Arriving on the island of Hainan from the oceanic waters of the South China Sea, the Dongfeng Race Team stepped out of their vessel on Tuesday as the victors in the third leg of the Volvo Ocean Race.
The Chinese team and its French skipper became the first Chinese stage winners in the 41-year history of the yacht race. Dongfeng previously placed second in both of the first two stages.
Frenchman Charles Caudrelier described the third leg of the race, spanning from Abu Dhabi to Sanya in China, as his "Everest." The captain's statement makes sense when one considers that the Dongfeng winners emerged victorious from more than 23 days at sea, consisting of 5,403 nautical miles and eight different gulfs, oceans and seas.
After spraying champagne all over the award ceremony, Caudrelier told reporters:
"Winning a leg of the Volvo Ocean Race as a skipper is something I never imagined could have happened to me even a year ago. For sure, compared to the Groupama Sailing Team, I know how much energy, how much experience we had. . . . So to do it on a one-design boat with the Chinese aspect of our team, is a dream for me . . . but I didn't think we would achieve it so quickly."
The Frenchman's jubilation was shared by others, as the Dongfeng Twitter account showed on Thursday. Messages over the week included "Congratulations guys! Amazing sailing! You deserved to win this leg! Enjoy your time in Sanya!" and "Guess the team who wanted it most got it. Well deserved."
However, the social media account also states the grand aim of Dongfeng's participation in the Volvo-sponsored event: "to bring offshore sailing to China."
Caudrelier explained after the victory that, "[if there is] no more offshore sailing in China afterward, then the project will have done well but we will have failed in our longer term objective."
