Volvo Ocean Race - Team Brunel under way to Cape Town

by Team Brunel on 6 Nov 2017 Team Brunel is under way to Cape Town after a promising start in Leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race. Skipper Bouwe Bekking steered his boat in first over the starting line. After going a bit upstream the fleet rounded a mark near the old city centre and then set a definitive course towards open sea. Team Brunel left Lisbon for the open sea in second place.

Heavy first night forecasted

The sailors are facing a heavy first night with wind speeds up to 30 knots with an ocean swell near four-metres as the teams charge to the southwest. For the young Dutchman Carlo Huisman it’s his first Leg with a duration of over a week. Prior to the Leg he was realistic.

Carlo Huisman: “We’re having an average 20 knot winds for the coming four days. It will be a fast ride. During the first couple of days it will be essential to keep everything in one piece. But also have to keep our feet on the gas pedal because we want to win.”

Tiaro Pires legjumper

Tiaro Pires is a surfing legend. He was de first Portuguese surfer to make his debut on the World Tour and is known as the godfather of Portuguese surfing.

Pires: “It was awesome. I had zero expectations but this was so cool. A truly unique experience. When they told me it was time to jump, I really had to flip the switch. The jump was pretty high and we were going very fast. But I’m so happy I did this. It was a truly unique experience. I really hope they do well and wish them the best. They surely looked like they know what they’re doing.”

Follow leg 2 with the Race Tracker

The boats can followed during this 7,000 mile long leg via the Volvo Ocean Race Tracker with updates every six hours. The update times are 01.00, 07.00, 13.00 and 19.00 UTC.