This version of the VolvoOceanRace 2017-2018 has been very compatitive with a close and exciting last Leg. The Overall Ranking after 10 Legs was even for the 3 leading Teams, Mapfre , Dongfeng and Brunel; taking into account that Dongfeng would win the bonus point for the shortest sailing time overall.
Thus the results of these 3 Boats, would automatically rank them in the Overall accounting the finishing order in The Hague.
In the begin, it was Dongfeng leading closely followed by Mapfre, and Brunel loosing out and on the chase. It was the last stretch over the North Sea to wards the finish, where multiple exclusion zones, gave options for different strategies.
That split in the fleet, Brunel and Mapfre choosing the middle route over the North Sea, while Dongfeng choose the more risky route along the coast into a narrow "channel" between the exclusion zone and the coast. The latter route was longer, but the High would give Dongfeng a better wind towards the Finish.
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| Dongfeng wins the VolvoOceanRace 2017-2018 |
It was exactly this, that brought the Victory to Dongfeng. Trailing the other boats till about the Island of Texel on the NW corner of The Netherlands, where Dongfeng gained a better boatspeed only to cut in front of the other boats just before the finish in The Hague and take the Win.
The Scorecard looks like this, with now a clear winner.
There is one In-Port Race to come, Saturday 30th June at 11:30 UTC, 13:30 local in the waters just outside The Hague. This last In-Port Race is especially important for TurntheTideonPlastic and SunHungKai/Scallywag as these boats ended with equal points and the best score in the In-Port scorecard will decide the ultimate ranking.
