A number of people have decried the Leg 8 finish of the Volvo Ocean Race in Newport, Rhode Island as somewhat of a travesty. After all, Mapfre ghosted back from 5th (in a 7 boat fleet!) 24 hours before to win the leg by a few seconds. One look at the fleets’ plotter courses tells the story. It’s agonizing just looking at it. That said, I’ll submit that’s one of the things that makes this sport special. Yeah, the “better” sailors, or better sailed boats or better prepared boats usually win, but not always. No, it’s not fair. And sometimes it’s painful. But that possibility gives everybody a reason to stay out there, even when it seems hopeless. Who among us hasn’t clutched defeat from the hands of victory? Clutched victory from the hands of defeat? Anyway, here’s the video of the Mapfre and Brunel finishing, with the video starting a couple minutes before the finish.
And then there’s the Race to the Straits. Now, most of the crews were too busy to spend their time videotaping, but the Sloop Tavern crowd managed to get some footage of the finishes. Here’s some of Saturday’s finish in a nice breeze and sunshine:
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.