For every Leg, we keep a live blog with the latest news from Team Childhood I.
This blog keeps you up-to-date about what’s happening leading up to and during the leg.

This Live Blog is closed

Wednesday, June 2, 18.30 CEST

In a nerve-wracking final, the team skippered by Simeon Tienpont finished behind AmberSail 2 and leg winner The Austrian Ocean Race Project on respectively 15 and 21 seconds.

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Wednesday, June 2, 15.20 CEST
What a stunning finish that was. With the top 3 finishing within 15 seconds after four days of racing and more than 1300 nm from Lorient to Cascais.

Provisional results

1. The Austrian Ocean Race Project 12:47:47

2. Ambersail 12:47:49

3. Team Childhood 12:48:02

4. Sailing Poland 12:49:00

5. AkzoNobel 12:50:43

6. Viva Mexico 12:51:53

7. Mirpuri

Pictures: Sailing Energy / The Ocean Race

Wednesday, June 2, 14.11 CEST
We're in the last 6 nm to the finish, currently in first according to the tracker but differences are minimum

Wednesday, June 2, 10.40 CEST
A short message from OBR Brend Schuil
”So we had about 34 till 40 knots downwind the last days. By now I do know what they mean with real racing.

The atmosphere is still good on board, although I do notice that everyone wants to go ashore, have some normal food and take a shower.

At the moment we are sailing towards the finish. Very exciting and the concentration is top-notch onboard. Fingers crossed!

Brend”

Wednesday, June 2, 09.30 CEST
It can be a cliche, but it really is all to play for with less than 50 miles to run to the finish. But that's not the whole story.

There is a Traffic Separation Scheme to negotiate (the yellow shaded box on the race tracker), with teams forced to chose a north or south option. As it looks all VO65’s except Mirpuri choose the south option.
Currently, the whole fleet, all seven of them are within 3 nm.

We hand over to the Finish blog from the Ocean Race for the latest news but will try to keep this one up to date too.

Wednesday, June 2, 07.00 CEST
80 till 87 nm to go for the first six boats. It’s tight and at the moment only the Austrian Ocean Racing Project seems to have to let go of the rest of the fleet.

The night has played out pretty much as expected, with the fleet compressing. The earliest finish time, in theory, is 1100, but Race Control expects them to slow down for a while until the breeze fills in on the coast. Still predicting a lunchtime crazy mass finish.

Wednesday, June 2, 04.50 CEST
With just over 100 nm to go the whole fleet is more or less compressed. And the racing starts again. With the top five within 6 nm from each other nothing has been decided. At the moment the Team Childhood I is the most Southerly positioned boat about 115 nm from the finish line in Cascais, Portugal.

Follow those last hours live yourself on The Ocean Race Tracker.

Tuesday, June 1, 17.12 CEST

All to play for during final night at sea after a day of fast and furious racing
After an adrenaline-fuelled day of power reaching through the Atlantic, the crews competing in The Ocean Race Europe are facing a challenging final night at sea as they close in on Cascais, Portugal – the finish of the race’s opening leg from Lorient, France.

The northerly winds strengthened as the fleet rounded the virtual Atlantic turning mark early this morning, and that meant some exhilarating high-speed sailing for the crews.

In the VO65s, Portugal’s Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team skippered by Yoann Richomme continues to sail a near perfect race at the front of the seven-boat fleet. The team rounded the virtual turning mark around 30 minutes ahead of the second-placed Dutch entry AkzoNobel Ocean Racing – skippered by Chris Nicholson – with Bouwe Bekking’s Sailing Poland, and Simeon Tienpont’s Childhood I (NED) also in hot pursuit.

Jack Bouttell, watch captain on the Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team boat. “We're leading the 65 fleet... So I think we're in a pretty good spot. I think the main stress will now be just obviously going fast today, but then in the approach into Cascais it gets light again and managing that will be the last big hurdle I would say.”

It is noticeable on the race tracker that AkzoNobel Ocean Racing has been sailing a lower and slightly faster course than their rivals ahead and astern. As the day wore on their southerly track steadily increased the lateral separation between them and the other three VO65s.

The ETA in Cascais will be influenced by conditions near the finish. Estimates for the first finish range from 0800 local time (UTC+1) to around noon. The full fleet should arrive within about four hours from first to final boat across the line. Follow along on The Ocean Race Tracker.

Source: The Ocean Race

Tuesday, June 1, 13.15 CEST
Just in this email from skipper Simeon Tienpont: www.dutchsail.com/nieuws/2021/6/1/we-are-in-the-final-24-hours-of-this-leg-1

Tuesday, June 1, 06.45 CEST
We just rounded the virtual mark in the Atlantic.
An interesting mark rounding as we’re match racing with Sailing Poland.

Monday, May 31, 19.20 CEST
Apparently there are different kind of Champagne Sailing Conditions.
Day 2 of The Ocean Race Europe, with dolphins, waves and Team Childhood I skipper Simeon Tienpont.

Monday, May 31, 14.00 CEST
An e-mail from OBR Brend Schuil.
”Until an hour ago my laptop was safely stored in the waterproof case. The boat did feel like a swamp for the last 24-hours. Two hours ago the wind dropped and we have the sun back instead of clouds.

Yesterday evening at Finisterre we got as expected a lot of wind. Resulting in a nice boat speed of 20 knots, with peaks to 25 knots. Last night it was several times all hands on deck for a sail change.

Those sailors then in their (already short) off watches, had to put on their wet clothes again to help above and below deck. This repeated several times.

A sail change doesn’t only mean changing sails but also moving weight. As the position of the weight is very important.

With the strong wind, everything was put in the back. Where “my office” is normally positioned. Now with the wind dropping, we’re moving all the weight back to the front of the boat.

In the end, we lost our position to Team AkzoNobel. But we’re still at the top of the fleet and the mood on board is best to be described as competitive. So it ain’t over that’s for sure."

On a personal note, I’m completely wrecked. I almost didn’t sleep at all last night. But I’m still enjoying it. Greetings to everyone at home.

Brend”

Monday, May 31, 08.35 CEST
Good morning it’s race day 3 of The Ocean Race Europe.
The fleet leaves Finisterre behind is heading for the Waypoint in the Atlantic.
We’re currently positioned in 4th 0.3 nm behind Sailing Poland.
Follow it live on The Ocean Race Tracker.

Sunday May 30, 18.00 CEST
It’s 18.00 so time for The Ocean Race Daily Fix.
An in-depth look at the first day of Leg One of The Ocean Race Europe with host Niall Myant-Best.

Sunday May 30, 17.15 CEST

The first footage from the boat just arrived.
Champagne sailing conditions and positioned at the front of the fleet.

Sunday May 30, 13.00 CEST
An e-mail from OBR Brend Schuil
”We’re currently sailing downwind with beautiful weather. A lovely temperature and perfect conditions. The competition is still almost all in sight. Mirpuri is just in front of us, Team AkzoNobel is directly behind us. Diagonally behind us we see Sailing Poland. Everyone is aware it can still go either way.

On board everything is being done to ensure that we get the maximum speed out of the boat. The team is constantly trimming and shifting weight in the boat. All loose items are placed in the front and then back to the middle. But not only the stuff, also the people.

We are now sailing towards Finesterre where we expect more wind. At the moment we have a speed of 13 knots. Once there, it will likely be beech. For now we are happy with the position where we are and are fully accelerating to maintain a good position in the fleet.

On a more personal note, things are going well too. Life on board is tough haha . But I'm having fun with it!

Brend”

Sunday May 30, 10.40 CEST
Goodmorning we’re almost 21 hours on the road in this first leg of The Ocean Race Europe. Team Childhood I is currently in second position. Follow it live your self on The Ocean Race Tracker.

Saturday May 29, 22.00 CEST
With just over eight hours on the road, the differences are still very small.
At the moment it’s Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team leading the VO65 fleet. With AkzoNobel Ocean Racing and Team Childhood I just 0.4 nm behind. For the latest updates check The Ocean Race Tracker.

Saturday May 29, 17.00 CEST
Conditions at start time were extremely light, with the teams easing across the line with a favourable tide and tacking through a race gate before heading for the open waters off Lorient.

According to Wouter Verbraak, navigator aboard the Dutch Swedish Team Childhood I VO65, the light wind conditions at the start could prove critical in determining the running order for the rest of the leg.

“That is going to be a key moment of the race, so we will try to be not too radical and stick with the fleet so that we don’t get left behind,” Verbraak said. “Then it is going to be quite challenging for the rest of the leg because we are expecting strong winds around Finisterre and onward as we go out reaching into the Atlantic and back. But then the finish is looking very light.

“Like in many ocean races, you need to be good at everything. So for us, all round performance is what we will mostly focus on.”

Images: Sailing Energy / The Ocean Race

Saturday May 29, 13.50 CEST
We’re off for Leg 1 of The Ocean Race Europe.
Extreme light wind conditions but we’ve got Max Deckers up in the mast looking for the wind.

Saturday May 29, 12.30 CEST

Simeon Tienpont (NED): '“This is a unique moment in at least Dutch history. We’re at the start today with old & young professionals from the Netherlands all on the same boat. It’s also a real pleasure to have Julius Hallström (SWE) and Matt Whitehead (RSA) as young professionals on board. With this young and ambitious team, we are going to use The Ocean Race Europe to develop. I see this as a next step building up towards The Ocean Race 22-23 around the world for the next generation! Something made possible to the support of many but in particular Janssen de Jong, Slättö, Neptunia, and New Horizon.”

Saturday May 29, 12.15 CEST
It’s the final count down. From 13.30 CEST the start of The Ocean Race Europe will be live streamed on the link below. So make sure you have a stable internet connection in an hour.

Expected conditions at the start:
Light wind 4 - 7 knots.
Sea-breeze from the West-South-West
Probably getting lighter as the fleet gets more offshore.

Saturday, May 29 - 11.25 CEST
The boat just left the dock in Lorient.

Saturday, May 29 - 10.00 CEST
With only three and a half hours left to the start of The Ocean Race Europe, we got the latest quotes from the crew for you.

Rutger Vos (NED): “The first leg looks promising, with a nice course bringing us out into the Atlantic. After training, building up the team and preparing the boat, I’m looking forward to the start.”

Julius Hallström (SWE): “It looks like it's going to be a windy and fast one! With the reinforcement we have got in the team (Tienpont, Verbraak, Poortman, Van Niekerk editorial.), it will only help us. Hopefully, we carry the momentum we had from the prologue to the race!”

Laura van Veen (NED): “After a month of great preparations during the TORE Prologue we as a team and the boat are fully prepared for the start of The Ocean Race Europe! We made a steep progression as crew and are eager to continue improving. We are excited and ready to race! ”

Saturday, May 29 - 08.15 CEST
Goooodmorning it’s race day! At 13.45 CEST it’s time for the start of the inaugural edition of The Ocean Race Europe. this new three-stage offshore sailing race for professional teams racing in two classes of high-performance ocean-going yachts: VO65 and IMOCA 60 – starts from Lorient, France.

Yesterday the team sailed the last practice race in Lorient.

Friday, May 28 - 22.30 CEST
After a good dinner and briefing for the Leg, the team is ready for the start of Leg 1.
Meanwhile, we show you the best pictures of the day by our OBR Brend Schuil on Facebook.
Have a good night and know the team is looking forward to what’s ahead!

Friday, May 28 - 21.30 CEST
Looking back on this practice race day with the video of The Ocean Race

Friday, May 28 - 16.00 CEST
Looking ahead to the Leg start on Saturday, May 29.
We talked with watch leader Gerd Jan Poortman (NED) and young professional: Jelmer van Beek (NED).
Read the full leg and race preview by clicking on this link.

Friday, May 28 - 15.30 CEST

The team finished third in the warm up regatta on Friday May 28.

A Regatta that’s been characterised by light weather conditions.

Friday, May 28 - 12.30 CEST

Awesome footage by OBR Brend Schuil from the delivery trip The Hague - Lorient.

Friday, May 28 - 11.00 CEST

Just in: this preview with Team Childhood I’s watch leader Gerd Jan Poortman (NED).

Friday, May 28 - 07.45 CEST
After a late arrival last night, the team is already back at the dock.
Doing their media obligations and preparing for today’s sail.
Leg start will be tomorrow, Saturday, May 29th.

Thursday, May 27 - 23.00 CEST
After grabbing victory as the overall winners of the Prologue - a series of short, tactical races leading up to The Ocean Race Europe - Team Childhood 1 has made their way across the Baltic Sea to the race starting point in Lorient, France.

Carrying the Relay4Nature baton on board, Arianne Van de Loosdrecht called for stronger policy and protection for the ocean, and swift action when it comes to plastic pollution. Read more.

Live Blog - Leg 1