On Thursday afternoon Team Childhood I finished first in the second stage of the prologue. It was a race from Gdynia (Poland) to Stockholm (Sweden). After a long match race duel with Team Sailing Poland (skippered by Bouwe Bekking), the young Swedish-Dutch team took the lead. The lead turned out to be Team Childhood I’s win in the second stage. The race took them just over 24 hours.

Proud Van Beek
The 26-year-old co-skipper: Jelmer van Beek (NED), is one of the nine sailors under 30 onboard. Van Beek: “It’s cool to achieve this first victory with this team. For me, it’s a clear sign that we’re learning quickly. We had a nice match race against the Polish team, with several experienced old Ocean Race sailors on board. What I like most about this victory is that we have only just started with this young team. That’s promising, I’m really looking forward to the future!”

Hallström is more than happy with the win
The win was extra special for the 25-year-old Swede Julius Hallström. Hallström: “I’m super happy to win the leg to Stockholm my hometown! Stoked to be with this young mixed Swedish and Dutch crew. Looking forward to seeing everybody on the docks in Stockholm.”

Postma victory for the new generation
Three times Olympic Pieter-Jan Postma on board as coach to guide the learning process was satisfied and proud. “This is the victory of the new generation. I’m proud of the team. We are in a cool process together. A process that revolves around a strong team culture in which we all focus on a much growth as possible for the team. It’s fantastic that we already take this victory.”

Postma continues: “We planned this stage well with our navigator Max Deckers and carried it out even better. We fought for every single mile. After the start, we waited until the moment we could strike. Our timing and choice regarding the sail were good. We were leading together with Team Sailing Poland from Bouwe Bekking. That was a close race for over five hours. In the middle of the night, we really got up to speed. By the morning we were in the lead. By continuing to optimize the sail trim, weight, and balance of the boat. And above all very good steering and tactical sailing, we managed to gain a little bit of profit every hour. This victory is a victory for the new generation. But certainly, also for our partners: the World Childhood Foundation, Janssen de Jong Groep, Slättö, New Horizon, Neptunia, and DutchSail.

The Prologue is used by the teams in preparation for The Ocean Race Europe, starting at the end of this month in Lorient, France.

Prologue
May 16th 2021 – Stage 3: Stockholm, SWE => South Sweden Waypoint.

The Ocean Race Europe
May 29th 2021 - Leg 1: Lorient, FRA => Cascais, POR.
June 6th 2021 - Leg 2: Cascais, POR => Alicante, ESP.
June 13th 2021 – Leg 3: Alicante, ESP => Genua, ITA

Team Childhood I take the win in the race to Stockholm