Chinese entrant Dongfeng Race Team was one of four boats in the Volvo Ocean Race fleet to keel over in the Southern Ocean on Tuesday as the fleet experienced its roughest conditions since the event started in October last year.
The all-women’s crew of Team SCA (Sweden), Dongfeng and MAPFRE (Spain) all suffered “Chinese gybes” — with the boats briefly tipped on their sides — during 12 hours of drama as they headed toward Cape Horn.
Another competitor, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, also endured a drama-filled night, reporting “a massive wipeout,” although it was not pitched on its side in the same way as the other three.
Photo: AFP
Miraculously, no injuries from any of the crews were reported, although the boats were assessing how much damage had been done in the incidents after they were returned upright.
Charles Caudrelier, the French skipper of Dongfeng, also gave a graphic description of the toppling of his boat.
“This will be a great and amusing story to share over a beer or to my grandchildren in a few years’ time — but last night it was hell,” Caudrelier wrote. “Laid flat on the water with the boat heeled at 90 degrees at 48 degrees south, with 40 knots of wind [75kph] and 5m seas is really not fun at all.”
MAPFRE’s Onboard Reporter Francisco Vignale described the scene on the Spanish boat.
“Due to a big wave, our boat was completely lying on its side. We were on deck and it was I who was closest to the water. Xabi [Fernandez] grabbed my jacket and helped me get out of this terrible situation,” he wrote in a message to shore. “Inside the boat, the situation was not very good either. The members of the crew who were sleeping were crushed between the berth and deck.”
“For a while, it was real mayhem, but fortunately none of the sailors were hurt. All four boats were later able to return to sailing through the most treacherous waves encountered since the six-strong fleet set off in Alicante last October,” a Volvo Ocean Race spokesman said.
They have now covered more than 2,000 nautical miles (3,700km) of the 6,776 nautical mile fifth leg. Team Brunel (Netherlands), which avoided any major problems, led by 11.1 nautical miles from overall race leaders Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing.
Team Alvimedica (Turkey/US), another boat to stay upright throughout, were third, 28.8 nautical miles adrift of Brunel, with MAPFRE, Dongfeng Race Team and Team SCA trailing them.
The boats are still expected to arrive in their leg five destination, Itajam, Brazil, on about April 4, having left Auckland, New Zealand, on March 18.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to