Triumph out of adversity

Dave Kneale/Volvo Ocean Race

We seriously damaged the boat in the fourth leg to China. Of course it was disappointing to abandon racing, but it became the turning point for us...

Monday, 10 August 2009 10:00 GMT

FROM THE COCKPIT

by Roberto Bermudez (skipper, Delta Lloyd)

Looking back at my first Volvo Ocean Race as skipper of Team Delta Lloyd, I must admit it was an interesting campaign with some downs and a steady way up. Luckily, I had done this race three times before with really good skippers, from whom I learned a lot.

I understand what that position requires. So, I came to Cape Town to help the team. Arriving at a table that was a bit messy, was hard, though.

We were competing against the big teams, without a strong organisation and with a boat owner and a group of friends. I had the feeling we had to clean up the table first.

Meanwhile, we had to sail safely and build up a team. I wanted to have a general picture of the campaign and how to take advantage of what was there. Replacing people is not nice, but sometimes necessary.

Tom Touber was the key-person in the process of our transformation. He has won this race before and knew what was needed. It was important for me that he trusted me.

We seriously damaged the boat in the fourth leg to China. Of course it was disappointing to abandon racing, but it became the turning point for us. We had the opportunity to build up again and Tom understood that really well.

He supported me in my approach and thoughts. We could finally work on increasing the performance of the crew and the equipment. As a result, things started to get better as of the stopover in Rio de Janeiro.

My most beautiful memories of this Volvo Ocean Race are the moment that we crossed the finish line of the Rio In-Port Race in third position and going through the scoring gate at Fernando de Noronha in third place as well.

But also arriving in India after a close fight. Everybody worked so hard, despite the lack of sleep for 24 hours. I think our biggest gain as a team is that eventually we were able to fight with the top level competitors.

For me personally, I am happy that I have proven to myself that I can organise a Volvo Ocean Race campaign. I am able to show proper leadership and that is an important lesson.

We made good choices in terms of people, by bringing in new key people. That also made a difference. Hopefully I will be back in the next Volvo Ocean Race.

This article appears in Life At The Extreme magazine, issue 32.