VOLVO OCEAN RACE – Leg #8

                                                                               Ainhoa Sanchez -V OR

                                                                         Chris Cameron – VOR

                                                                            Ainhoa Sanchez – VOR

But that all changed on the next to last leg of the round-the-oceans sailing battle when the ladies on Team SCA won the 647-mile, 4-day sprint from Lisbon to Lorient, France under gale force, boat-bashing, up-wind conditions.  And they led most of the way after taking a big gamble by sailing far offshore while the boys in the other boats safely hugged the shoreline of Spainand France.

                                                                             Ainhoa Sanchez – VOR

And let’s make no mistake.  This was no fluke.  Team SCA proved that they can sail as fast as any team of men in the world and they did it with overpowering strength and style.

                                                                                Rick Tomlinson – Team SCA

It has been a very tough road for the ladies, in so many different and often spirit-killing ways, and this victory was many years in the making.  But just like when the U.S women won the World Cup 16 years ago, and men and women alike from all over America  suddenly noticed that women are just as tough and talented as the men who invariably get all of the glory, this sailing victory is a sports milestone.  Another brick in the wall has been removed.  And young girls who are now sailing at Severn Sailing or Annapolis Yacht Club can take heart in knowing that in June of 2015, twelve tenacious women from the UK, Australia, Sweden, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United States stood atop the winner’s podium in Franceand were the sailing champions of the world.

                                                                               Ainhoa Sanchez – VOR

Throughout the history of the Volvo Ocean Race, women have been the red-haired stepchildren – a sort of conciliatory afterthought.  The men took center stage while the women always finished last.  In fact, no women’s entry had ever finished all of the legs of this round-the-world race in over twenty years.  Their boats always broke down at some point along the long way and they had to seek refuge on some foreign shore. 

                                                                            Ainhoa Sanchez – VOR

Don’t get me wrong.  The boys love having the girls around and they have always treated them with respect.  But when the goal was to merely finish, rather than win, all they ever really got in the end was a patronizing pat on the head, like a little kid or a puppy.

                                                                               Ricardo Pinto – VOR

As the VOR has evolved over the years, it has made it harder and harder for women to compete – not intentionally, like the sleazy FIFA bandits who are making the women play on leg-burning artificial turf in the World Cup up in Canada – but with the advent of the canting keels, the boats could carry larger and much heavier sails. 

                                                                       Anna-Lena Elled – Team SCA

When I helped with the Brasil shore crew about eight years ago, I went for some practice sails, and I can remember how many strong men it took to move the sails around above and below deck on a calm day out on the Chesapeake Bay – like hoisting a telephone pole.  Now, imagine that it’s a bunch of women trying to accomplish the same task, in the dark, in the Southern Ocean, with rolling 40-foot seas and sixty mile-per-hour winds, and you can see why it has been so bloody hard for the women to compete against their male counterparts.

                                                                      Anna-Lena Elled – Team SCA

This is the first time there has even been a women’s entry in the VOR since 2002.  It simply wasn’t a fair fight.  And it was dangerous as hell.

                                                                      Corinna Halloran – Team SCA

But when the Volvo folks decided to go with a one-design Volvo 65 this year, the women jumped right back into the mix.  They were still at a disadvantage.  And that is exemplified by the fact that they have usually sailed with twelve people on board while the men only sailed with nine.

                                                                     Corinna Halloran – Team SCA

The latest VOR has run true to form with the women always finishing last – but at least finishing every leg of the race.  And with each leg, they got better, and stronger, and even more determined to excel.  But the psychological sting of always being the last to arrive at the finish, sometimes long after the men had stored all of their gear and were downing a few congratulatory pints in the local pub, had to be discouraging.

                                                                         Chris Cameron – VOR

“Ahh, well, at least we finished and we did our best,” was about all they could keep telling themselves.

                                                                      Anna-Lena Elled – Team SCA

But those days are gone forever.

                                                                              Buda Mendes – VOR

Skipper Sam Davies had this to say about their convincing victory.  “Thanks to everybody for all your support. It’s not really sunk in yet. It probably won’t hit us until we hit the dock and we see there aren’t any other boats there.

                                                                                    Marc Bow – VOR

“It’s a reward for all the hard work we have done. It’s a great confidence booster. It’s going to be huge for us. We’ve had a mountain to climb to get here.”

                                                                                 Ricardo Pinto – VOR

                                                                                   Marc Bow – VOR

                                                                          Ainhoa Sanchez – VOR

                                                  VOLVO  LEADER BOARD

	Leg 1	Leg 2	Leg 3	Leg 4	Leg 5	Leg 6	Leg 7	Leg 8	Overall
Abu Dhabi	1	3	2	2	1	2	5	3	19
Alvimedica	5	4	3	4	3	5	3	7	33
Brunel	3	1	5	5	4	3	1	5	27
Dongfeng	2	2	1	3	DNF-8	1	4	7	29
MAPFRE	7	4	4	1	2	4	2	4	31
SCA	6	6	6	6	5	6	6	1	44
Vestas Wind	4	DNF-8	DNS-8	DNS-8	DNS-8	DNS-8	DNS-8	2	54