Page 34 - TBN-2015-2

LOCAL INDUSTRIAL NEWS 本地业界动态
Dongfeng Maintains Lead in Volvo Ocean
东风在2014-2015沃尔沃环球帆船赛中保持领先
With less than 1,400 nautical miles left to sail in the on-go- ing Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015, the Dongfeng Race Team (DFRT) stayed ahead of the pack after the fourth leg of the competition came to an end recently.
Having completed the leg through the South China Sea and Pacif- ic Ocean, Dongfeng Race Team became the first Chinese-backed boat to win a stage (fourth leg) in the event.
In this leg, the overall leader held a narrow 2.7-nautical mile (nm) advantage over the closest pursuer, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, with Spain’s MAPERE just 12.4nm adrift.
Rarely has a leg of this length (5,264nm from Sanya, China to New Zealand) been so closely contested in the 41-year history of the race.
After nearly 18 days of head-to-head racing through the South China Sea and Pacific Ocean, Dongfeng’s French skipper Charles Caudrelier said the team was definitely feeling the pressure to- wards the end of the stage.
Although Dongfeng’s boat started the leg with a one-point advan- tage over Abu Dhabi, the team had to bounce back from the seri- ous breakage of a piece of mast equipment. The crew dropped back to last place while the damage was being repaired, but within 48 hours had picked off the rest of the six-strong fleet, one-by-one, to claim the lead.
“To be in the lead after all the hard knocks we’ve taken on this leg is without doubt one of my, and the team’s, proudest moments since the start of the race,” he said.
Despite the closeness of the competition, the French skipper was in a buoyant mood in a weekend message from the boat. “We’ve got our smile back over these past two days and our efforts have paid off,” he wrote.
“Our easterly position might work out well for us, but just one cloud can either launch you to the front or stop you totally for several hours.
“It’s turning into a fantastic race and with the light winds forecast for the end, it will surely be a nail-biter,” he wrote in his blog from the boat.
Overall, all competing team boasts of sailing 38,739 nautical miles over 9 months, visiting 11 ports and every continent before the race concludes in Gothenburg, Sweden, on 27th June.
Dongfeng led the overall standings by one point after three legs from Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing with Team Brunei from the Nether- lands in third, three points further behind.
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东风队最后驶进中国南海和太平洋，完成了赛段，成为 第一支获得赛段(第四赛程)冠军的中国赛队。
在这一个赛段，积分第一的东风队，与紧追在后的阿布 扎比队之间只有2.7海里的优势，而与西班牙的MAPERE则 相差12.4海里。
在该环球帆船赛的41年历史里，极少在这种长度的赛段 (从中国三亚到新西兰的5,264海里)展开如此剧烈的 竞争。
经过接近18天的中国南海和太平洋之间的剧烈战斗，东 风法国船长戈德赫里埃(Charles Caudrelier)表示， 他们的船队确实在比赛迈入最后阶段时感受到压力。
虽然东风队在一开始以一分的优势领先阿布扎比队，但 后来却因桅杆破损而大大落后于其他的船队。然而东风 队不懈努力，在排除问题后的48小时里，即逐个超越前 面的6支船队追回第一。
“在此赛段历尽许多艰苦后才得以领先，无疑是我和船 队开始参与这个竞赛里最自豪的时刻!”他说。
尽管竞争如此剧烈，该法国船长却从船上捎来热情高涨 的消息。他这样写着:“在过去的两天里，我们重新找 到了笑容，因为我们的努力已经获得了回报。”
“我们所处的东风位置可能会带来顺利，但只要一朵云 就能将我们向前推或让我们停止航行好几个小时。”
赛程剩下少于1，400海里的2014-2015沃尔沃 环球帆船赛中，东风队(DFRT)在最近结束 的第四赛段保持领先位置。