Live Blog - Leg 2
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 now.
But make sure you read our news release about the fifth place in the Second Leg of The Ocean Race Europe earlier today, including the overall scoreboard and quotes from Rutger Vos and Simeon Tienpont.
Read more
Wednesday, June 9, 10.40 CEST
With the first reaction from Jelmer van Beek, we close this live blog.
Stay tuned for a press release about this second leg of The Ocean Race Europe later today.
Wednesday, June 9, 10.00 CEST
Viva Mexico holds on for a fourth place on Leg 2, which means 4 points for the leaderboard. Team Childhood take fifth place. It was Sailing Poland a few minutes earlier for third place, with a cheeky late pass. Skipper Bouwe Bekking held his team further offshore while Viva Mexico and Team Childhood engaged in a private match race close to the pier. Fortunately for Sailing Poland, there was just slightly more wind offshore and they were able to sail around for 5 important scoring points.
Wednesday June 9, 09.44 CEST
Sailing Poland finishing in third.
The Ocean Race is live
Wednesday, June 9, 08,39 CEST
With 3.5 nm to go we're currently match racing with Viva Mexico.
Sailing Poland is 0.7 nm behind
Wednesday, June 9, 07.58 CEST
It’s extremely close with Viva Mexico 1.1 nm and Sailing Poland 1.2 nm behind us and only 5.3 nm to go.
Wednesday, June 9, 07.40 CEST
ETA in approximately 1 hour from now.
Wednesday, June 9, 07.15 CEST
Team Childhood, Sailing Poland, and Viva Mexico are in a tight group and are the next VO65s likely to finish. They have less than 10 miles to go but are only making about 3 to 4 knots towards the finish line in the light winds.
Check it out at The Ocean Race Tracker.
Wednesday, June, 9, 06.30 CEST
Goodmorning, Mirpuri 1st and Akzo 2nd already finished. We’re currently battling it out with Sailing Poland for third place.
We are all very close to each other, with also Mexico only 2nm behind Sailing Poland. All three are struggling to make headway as the land breeze from last night is quickly fading. The group is about 12 miles from the finish but barely making 2-3 knots.
0605 CEST - Chris Nicholson's AkzoNobel Ocean Racing team has slipped across the finishing line in second place to earn 6 points, just as the sun is beginning to rise in Alicante.
0540 CEST - Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team win Leg 2 of The Ocean Race Europe, and earn 7 points on the leaderboard.
05:30 CEST - The finish line is agonisingly close for the Mirpuri Foundation crew now, but the wind isn't cooperating. The boat has slowed to a crawl just over two miles from the finishing line. But it will only take a few puffs of breeze to get them across. It shouldn't be long now and with a bit of margin over AkzoNobel, the lead should be safe.
04:45 CEST - The Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team and AkzoNobel Ocean Racing remain in lockstep at the head of the VO65 fleet, and have been making the most of a light land breeze all night to close in on the finish in Alicante.
Conditions are extremely light and fluky, with speeds ranging moment by moment from less than 2 knots to nearly 10 knots.
Tuesday, June 8, 21.00 CEST
The weather conditions have moderated considerably from yesterday’s fierce headwind winds that funnelled against them through the Gibraltar Strait. However, despite the Mediterranean’s gentler breezes and flatter seas, the high intensity of the racing remains undiminished as the closely packed fleet closes in on the leg two finish in Alicante, Spain.
Current weather routing estimates suggest the leaders could now reach Alicante as early as 0700 UTC / 0900 CEST tomorrow Wednesday, June 9.
Follow the tracker at theoceanrace.com for the latest positions.
Jelmer van Beek skipper Team Childhood I
Photo: Brend Schuil
Tuesday, June 8, 20.00 CEST
Let’s get on track with what is happening in the fleet.
Watch the newest Daily Fix with host Niall Myant-Best.
Tuesday, June 8, 18.00 CEST
Some insights from onboard Team Childhood I by watch leader Peter van Niekerk.
Note: this video has probably been made earlier in the leg
Tuesday, June 8, 13.55 CEST
“It’s day three onboard the Team Childhood. In the last hour, I finally find time to write this short email. We’re heading toward Cabo Gata now. Cabo Gata is near Almeria. On the south-eastern tip of Spain. We must get around there on our way to Alicante.”
Read the email from skipper Simeon Tienpont which we received back at HQ at 11.11 CEST this morning.
Simeon Tienpont - Photo: Brend Schuil
Tuesday, June 8, 08.55 CEST
This second morning of Leg 2, we’re still in fourth position. Although the distance to lead has increased a little bit overnight. As soon as we hear anything from the boat. You will find it here.
In the meanwhile don’t forget to check The Ocean Race Tracker, with updates every five minutes.
Monday, June 7, 21.00 CEST
Wondering what it takes to gybe a Volvo 65?
We clipped this raw footage from onboard Team Childhood I as they were near Cabo Sint de Vincente yesterday evening.
Monday, June 7, 19.15 CEST
A day after leaving Cascais, Portugal on the second leg of The Ocean Race Europe, this afternoon the fleet battled fierce headwinds in the Gibraltar Strait – the narrow and congested waterway dividing mainland Europe from north Africa – on their way to Alicante, Spain.
One of busiest commercial shipping routes in the world, the Gibraltar Strait marks the crews’ transition from the vast expanses of the Atlantic Ocean to the enclosed waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
As expected, strong easterly headwinds gusting over 40 knots made for brutal conditions for The Ocean Race Europe yachts for the three-hour Gibraltar Strait passage.
At 19.15 UTC the top four were within 2.2 nm with Team Childhood I in fourth position. It’s Sailing Poland followed by Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team on 0.2 nm and AkzoNobel Ocean Racing 0.3 nm behind Mirpuri in third. Behind Team Childhood I it are Ambersail-2 in fifth, 7.9 nm, and The Austrian Ocean Race Project and Viva Mexico on 11.5 and 16.2 nm behind the leaders.
Conditions are expected to moderate for The Ocean Race Europe fleet as they move further into the Mediterranean tonight. With a little under 300nm / 556km still to race on this second leg the fleet is expected to arrive in Alicante, Spain on Wednesday June 9, although with light conditions forecast before the finish, this ETA could slide back.
Brend Schuil
Monday, June 7, 14.10 CEST
While the boats are entering the Strait of Gibraltar let’s hear what our navigator Wouter Verbraak had to say about it before the start of Leg 2. Verbraak: “On the Strait of Gibraltar forget about the racing, and just make sure we get through there in one piece.”
Wouter Verbraak. Photo: Sailing Energy / The Ocean Race
Monday, June 7, 11.40 CEST
Let’s look back for a moment to the start of The Ocean Race Europe Leg 2. The course for leg two saw the fleet pass Portugal’s coastal capital city Lisbon and then south on to Cape St. Vincent, the southwestern-most point in Portugal and Europe.
Monday, June 7, 09.40 CEST
While the boats are almost at the Strait of Gibraltar. Differences are still small, with the whole top 4 within 5 nm. Follow it live at The Ocean Race Livetracker.
Sunday, June 6, 20.55 CEST
We rounded Cabo San Vincente in second position, just behind Mirpuri. We’re the more inside positioned boat. The distance to lead is 0.7 nm at the moment.
Sunday, June 6, 17.32 CEST
Almost three and a half hours in the race.
We’re currently in fifth position but the differences are still small. By the time the teams round Cabo San Vincente, we'll have a more accurate update about the standings in this Leg 2 of The Ocean Race Europe.
Check it out real time yourself by watching it on The Ocean Race Live Tracker.
Sunday, June 6, 17.25 CEST
Enjoy the first images from the start are coming in.
Sunday, June 6, 14.00 CEST
Here we go. Leg start in 20 minutes and this is the crewlist.
Crewlist Team Childhood I – leg 2
Simeon Tienpont – NED – skipper
Gerd Jan Poortman – NED – watch leader
Wouter Verbraak – NED – navigator
Peter van Niekerk – NED – watch leader
Jelmer van Beek – NED – under 30
Rutger Vos – NED – under 30
Laura van Veen – NED – under 30
Arianne van de Loosdrecht – NED – under 30
Matt Whitehead – RSA – under 30
Max Deckers – NED – under 30
Lars van Stekelenborg – NED – under 30
Robin Jacobs – NED – under 30
Pieter-Jan Postma – NED
Brend Schuil – NED – On Board Reporter
Sailing Energy / The Ocean Race
Sunday, June 6, 12.00 CEST
Livestream for todays start.
Sunday, June 6, 08.30 CEST
IT’S RACE DAY!
The second Leg of The Ocean Race Europe will take the fleet from Cascais, Portugal to Alicante, Spain. The forecast for the first half of Leg 2 predicts strong winds, and a difficult sea state in the Strait off Gibraltar. A quick look at the leaderboard shows us that the differences are minimal. With 3 boats sharing the third place, all with 5 points.
