There’s the “other” adventure race going on at the same time the Volvo Ocean Race. It all comes down to Mapfre, Dongfeng and Brunel. One can say it’s not nearly as cool as the R2AK, at least for us, it’s still exciting. In fact as I write this Dongfeng and Mapfre are in a dead heat with about 500 miles to go.
And leave it to the Europeans to make it a spectator sport. The fleet is routed through an inner harbor at Aarhus, where thousands of people can watch the boats do a quick maneuver. While this may drive the crews a bit crazy, it’s pretty interesting. I’ve set the link to this video to right before Dongfeng makes rounds a mark and heads out to meet Mapfre on the way in. (There’s actually a Part II to this video)
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.