The toughest and most challenging episode of Chris Nicholson\u2019s long and illustrious career will come to a climax when, against all odds, he leads Team Vestas Wind out of Lisbon for the start of the Volvo Ocean Race Leg 8 on Sunday (full story below).<\/p>\n
– Skipper Nicholson tells of the re-birth of a dream<\/p>\n
– ‘Race title a long way from being decided,’ says leaders\u2019 skipper<\/p>\n
– Follow the Race weekend action here on our superb App<\/p>\n
LISBON, Portugal, June 5 \u2013 The toughest and most challenging episode of Chris Nicholson\u2019s long and illustrious career will come to a climax when, against all odds, he leads Team Vestas Wind out of Lisbon for the start of the Volvo Ocean Race Leg 8 on Sunday.<\/p>\n
On November 29 last year, his boat was left shattered after it crashed into a reef in the middle of the Indian Ocean during Leg 2, and with it Nicholson\u2019s dreams of winning the offshore sailing\u2019s greatest prize at his fifth attempt.<\/p>\n
What followed has confounded many expert observers, who predicted that the Volvo Ocean 65 boat was a wreck, fit only to be cleared off the reef and humanely destroyed.<\/p>\n
Instead, title sponsors Vestas and their backers led by Dutch company Powerhouse, decided to set an incredibly ambitious target to re-build a major part of the boat into a one-design racing yacht capable of re-joining the start line for Legs 8 and 9.<\/p>\n
The work, including clearing all traces of debris of the boat from the reef, has been completed in four months \u2013 half the time it takes to build a new Volvo Ocean 65 \u2013 by the Persico boatyard in Bergamo, Italy.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels great to be back,\u201d Nicholson, 45, told a press conference in Lisbon on Friday. \u201cThis is my fifth race and we talk about what a tough race it can be, but this has, for sure, been the toughest \u2013 not just for me, but for the entire team.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody has persevered and got through all the hard times to be back here with a fully functioning boat that can be competitive in this race and also compete in the next round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race. We really made the most out of such a difficult situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
He told reporters that the boat had emerged through its final trials in Lisbon this week with flying colours and competed well in pro-am races in the Portuguese capital.<\/p>\n
So what are\u00a0Vestas Wind\u2019s prospects for the final two legs to Lorient (France) and Gothenburg (Sweden) against their six rival boats in a fleet that has already circumnavigated the world?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are some of the most competitive people that you\u2019ll find on Vestas Wind \u2013 we\u2019re there in the same class of boat as the others, we\u2019ll play by the rules and we\u2019ll play hard,\u201d said Nicholson.<\/p>\n
The Team Vestas Wind crew re-joins a race intriguingly poised.<\/p>\n
Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker\/GBR) lead by six points from both Team Brunel (Bouwe Bekking\/NED) and Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier\/FRA).<\/p>\n
The latter were rocked midweek by a one-point penalty imposed by an independent, ISAF-appointed jury for sailing the wrong way into a Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) during Leg 7 from Newport, Rhode Island to Lisbon.<\/p>\n
Team SCA (Sam Davies\/GBR) and MAPFRE (Iker Mart\u00ednez\/ESP) suffered a similar fate for an identical rule breach and the all-women\u2019s crew under Davies were also penalised another point for entering an exclusion zone during the same stage (see latest Scoreboard top).<\/p>\n
\u201cWe admit we made a mistake and we learned from it. Already we\u2019re taking measures to make sure it doesn\u2019t happen again,\u201d said Davies.<\/p>\n
Walker made clear he is taking absolutely nothing for granted, although the crew suffered a recent bout of illness on board, which has sidelined Adil Khalid (UAE) for Leg 8, with Louis Sinclair (Antigua\/Barbuda) replacing him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of this race left. In offshore sailing, you can lose it going up a river at the end,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen Admiral\u2019s Cups lost in the dying seconds. We\u2019re a long, long way from winning this race. When you start to think you\u2019ve got it won, that\u2019s when you start to lose.<\/p>\n
via \u2018Great to be back\u2019| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The toughest and most challenging episode of Chris Nicholson\u2019s long and illustrious career will come to a climax when, against all odds, he leads Team Vestas Wind out of Lisbon for the start of the Volvo Ocean Race Leg 8 … Continue reading