And there it was, all finished! What a journey we have had with our Premier Challenge for this edition of the Volvo Ocean Race.
It is no secret that we had difficulty getting our funding in place and I am sure most other teams would have called it a day, but we said “never say die” and we stuck it out ’til the end.
The project brought us its share of successes and I am glad that we kept going. We ended up with about half the budget of the second lowest team, and less than a third of the other teams, which gives you some idea why our campaign was somewhat unorthodox.
We completed legs one and two, then withdrew and re-entered for legs six to nine. This was the only way forward for us as we had real upwind speed problems which could only be fixed by replacing our single fixed dagger board with twin retractable ones which all other teams had.
This change was scheduled to happen three months prior to the start in Spain, but lack of funds precluded us from carrying out the work.
The Volvo Open 70s are fantastic boats to sail, very challenging with the limited crew numbers, and exhilarating performance. The next race will be a much different game with the speeds of the different boats much closer as the designers find the right corner of the box to be in. Our designer, Don Jones, for his first attempt at these boats, did a wonderful job and our boat is very strong. Some may say that our keel rams were heavy, but no structural failures in the six legs we completed is to be commended. Our upwind speed in the end was at least mid-fleet, however we did suffer downwind.
Would I do it again?
After a rollercoaster, “on again, off again” programme, it is very frustrating knowing how much better we could have done it with the right funding. It would be my wish to have another 12-month push for proper funding so we can show our full potential next time around.
And last, but not least, a huge thanks to all my team for all your hard work in difficult times: to our shore team Alex and Charlotte (yes all two of them); to GT (Graeme Taylor) my right hand man; to my stand-in skipper Matt Humphries and our sailing crew of 10; to Don Jones for tireless design of all things; to Brunel, ING Real Estate, Wallenius Wilhelmsen, the Victorian Government, Sunergy and our sponsors; but most of all to Bindy Lockhart, project director, for keeping us all in line with the limited resources we had. In the end, we started and finished the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06, and we hope to see you all on the start line in November 2008.
Grant Wharington
Coming Soon : Mike Sanderson
Part 2 : From the Cockpit: Neal McDonald
Part 3 : From the Cockpit: Seb Josse
Part 4 : From the Cockpit: Torben Grael
Part 5 : From the Cockpit: Paul Cayard
Part 6 : From the Cockpit: Mike Sanderson
Part 7 : From the Cockpit: Bouwe Bekking
03680189-8cd3-4c0e-a92c-1f1a017a0598ImagePrimaryMove0492e86-3dc6-4813-a09c-2e66110f7834images/assets/XE5T5515_6x4.jpgtrueBrunel arrive in Gothenburg after finishing Leg 9 of the Volvo Ocean Race © David BraniganXE5T5515_6x4.jpg.jpg400600© David Branigancf352f72-cb9a-41dd-bf64-1a33545e06feimages/assets/XE5T5515_6x4_thumb.jpgfalseBrunel arrive in Gothenburg after finishing Leg 9 of the Volvo Ocean Race © David BraniganXE5T5515_6x4_thumb.jpg{Width=600, Height=4.jpg67100© David Branigan9Leg0910ContentImage22TeamBrunel XE5T5515_6x4,Brunel arrive in Gothenburg after finishing Leg 9 of the Volvo Ocean Race © David Branigan2006-06-17T18:33:31.13truetruefalsefalse1862aa9e-626e-4a81-b18b-7637680828f8ImagePrimaryMov5c6681cb-ddf2-404d-b4cf-e540a655dc19images/assets/VOR6500_4x6.jpgtrueThe Brunel Bowman keeps a look out at the start of Leg 9 © Oskar Kihlborg VOR6500_4x6.jpg.jpg600400© Oskar Kihlborg 05e37be5-40d6-4b9e-9842-753533961621images/assets/VOR6500_4x6_thumb.jpgfalseThe Brunel Bowman keeps a look out at the start of Leg 9 © Oskar Kihlborg VOR6500_4x6_thumb.jpg{Width=400, Height=6.jpg10067© Oskar Kihlborg 9Leg0910ContentImage22TeamBrunel VOR6500_4x6,The Brunel Bowman keeps a look out at the start of Leg 9 © Oskar Kihlborg 2006-06-15T16:34:06.197truetruefalsefalse127d7cce-1a92-4b05-996a-30a14b3ab135ImagePrimaryMov80978332-e274-4eca-adca-5d77c7f92430images/assets/DB3605_6x4.jpgtrueBrunel approaches the finish line in Rotterdam. ©David BraniganDB3605_6x4.jpg.jpg400600©David Braniganed6bc1da-30fc-4ae7-915f-db4688ec1b08images/assets/DB3605_6x4_thumb.jpgfalseBrunel approaches the finish line in Rotterdam. ©David BraniganDB3605_6x4_thumb.jpg{Width=600, Height=4.jpg67100©David Branigan8Leg0810ContentImage22TeamBrunel DB3605_6x4,Brunel approaches the finish line in Rotterdam. ©David Branigan2006-06-10T16:22:13.323truetruefalsefalse5ef726b9-5941-49aa-8028-afb2e4d4bcadImagePrimaryMovb04f18f8-ca25-424d-91a7-5265850102c5images/assets/_MG_5630_6x4.jpgtrueBrunel pose on the podium after finish 5th on leg 7 from New York to Portsmouth © David Branigan_MG_5630_6x4.jpg.jpg400600© David Branigan9dd8478c-e311-4103-86a7-07d1365f8fd4images/assets/_MG_5630_6x4_thumb.jpgfalseBrunel pose on the podium after finish 5th on leg 7 from New York to Portsmouth © David Branigan_MG_5630_6x4_thumb.jpg{Width=600, Height=4.jpg67100© David Branigan7Leg0710ContentImage22TeamBrunel _MG_5630_6x4,Brunel pose on the podium after finish 5th on leg 7 from New York to Portsmouth © David Branigan2006-05-22T16:54:55.41truetruefalsefalsecedc4f5d-43b2-4475-a67e-f04f37a3f6dfImagePrimaryMovaa898662-9f76-406b-b725-f9acacbca028images/assets/melbourneinport_sally_02.jpgtrueAerial view of Brunel charging downwind during the Melbourne Inport race ©Sally Collisonmelbourneinport_sally_02.jpg.jpg400600©Sally Collison139da591-b0d8-492c-9880-b639ee82168bimages/assets/melbourneinport_sally_02_thumb.jpgfalseAerial view of Brunel charging downwind during the Melbourne Inport race ©Sally Collisonmelbourneinport_sally_02_thumb.jpg{Width=600, Height=4.jpg67100©Sally Collison2Leg0210ContentImage22TeamBrunel melbourneinport_sally_02,Aerial view of Brunel charging downwind during the Melbourne Inport race ©Sally Collison2006-02-06T12:08:12.79truetruefalsefalseb32c4115-10ec-4899-8ffc-c66438d23f7aImagePrimaryMov5275c107-95a3-4528-9eca-dc32f4b2fb50images/assets/VOR3082_4x6 21.jpgtrueAerial view of ING Real Estate Brunel leaving the South African coast behind ©Oskar KihlborgVOR3082_4x6 21.jpg.jpg600400©Oskar Kihlborg6e6d4c56-8233-4ece-bff3-3beac12624f5images/assets/VOR3082_4x6 21_thumb.jpgfalseAerial view of ING Real Estate Brunel leaving the South African coast behind ©Oskar KihlborgVOR3082_4x6 21_thumb.jpg{Width=400, Height=6.jpg10067©Oskar Kihlborg2Leg0210ContentImage22TeamBrunel ING Real Estate Brunel, cape town, south africa, aerial VOR3082_4x6 21,Aerial view of ING Real Estate Brunel leaving the South African coast behind ©Oskar Kihlborg2006-01-04T11:48:27.67truetruefalsefalseIn the first of a series of articles with the skippers of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06, Grant Wharingon gives us his view on the Brunel campaign2006-08-01T16:04:30Tue, 01 Aug 2006 16:04:30 UTC