illbruck yacht volvo ocean race

Aboard the one and only German Volvo Ocean Race Winner

• September 9th, 2020
• Sailing Yacht

It was a hot summer´s day back in June this year when I visited Oliver Schmidt-Rybandt in Rostock at his “Speedsailing”-base near the city center. I went there to take a closer look at Dehler´s new 30 OD One Design which had already caught my imagination back in Cannes on her world premiere. Upon walking along the pontoon I noticed three large sailing yacht. True racers for which Speedsailing initially was best know for: Prior to becoming a Sales Agent for Dehler 30 OD this company was founded to keeping alive legendary racing yachts and offer a true racing experience to people. Their crow jewel of course is the GLASHÄGER, better know under her previous name, ILLBRUCK.

After Oliver showed me around on the Dehler 30 OD for more than two hours in detail, we walked back to the shore and came by the yacht. “Wanna take a look inside?”, he offered. Well, what a question? Of course I wanted! So I climbed aboard that 60 feet behemoth and instantly felt kind of being drawn into the amazing story of that yacht. For me as a German the name ILLBRUCK has a very special tone to it: She is the first, one and to date only German boat to ever win the Volvo Ocean Race. As I said: A true legend.

Inside ex-ILLBRUCK

The boat has been drawn as part of the one-design V.O.60-class and was built prior to the 2001 race. The campaign however was financed by German businessman Michael Illbruck who in turn is the son of Wilhelm Gustav Illbruck, a sailing legend and sponsor of Admiral´s Cupper PINTA who won the race in 1983. So, here we are aboard that classic. When I went down into what on other yachts is called the “saloon” it was almost like a magic moment: How many hundred times must have the crew of 2001/2002 Volvo Ocean Race come down and up the Kevlar-made “steps” of the companionway?

Down below the boat shines in yellow. The unmistakable hint of the boat´s prime material: Kevlar. Before the Carbon fibres became common sense in boat building it was a class rule of the V.O.60-boats to be built with Kevlar. This was the state-of-the-art stuff as it had a much higher impact resistance – back in those days there haven´t been any route-limitations for the crews, called “ice gates”, and so the boats were made as strong as possible to withstand possible impacts with growlers. The ex-ILLBRUCK weighs in 13.5 tons which is half the displacement of the Oceanis Yacht 62 ! Her bulkheads cling, making a strange sound when I knocked on it. Like being under some kind of tension. The strange yellow color of the unpainted, bare material instills a feeling of raw, naked power. Made for one sole purpose: Going fast.

The ILLBRUCK – now re-christened GLASHÄGER in honor for her new sponsor, a German mineral water brand – had the top-equipment available back in the days. The early 2000 years, sounds as if they had been passed by just the other day, in reality, that´s twenty years ago. In 5 years that will be a quarter century! A modern boat of her time, the pinnacle of yacht design and materials, today a slight scent of being antiquated – in the best sense of the word!

Unimaginable living conditions

Just like humans in a WW2 uboat , the crew of ILLBRUCK was not the primary concern when the yacht had been conceived. Everything on this boat seems to be envisioned and then made to make her go fast. Living conditions, human demands, comfort – these are words which did not play a single role in construction phase. Simple lightweight, slim and most certainly uncozy berths made of pipes plaster the hull walls.

A net makes the mattress. That´s it. A simple lashing can adjust the berth to the heeling and tack of the boat, that´s it. The crew probably had simple sleeping bags, most certainly wet and cold, a makeshift pillow, maybe the oilskin . There is no privacy here whatsoever, no cabins nor simple curtains or blankets. It must have been a hard trial being part of ILLBRUCK´s crew for sure.

I contemplate the water closet, cramped in a somewhat shadowy corner, half shadowed by a bulkhead, recessed into the hull. The ceramics would have been adjusted to counter the heeling as well and – although I cannot see one – I hope the crew would had made up for a blind, a curtain or something: As a guy obsessed with having at least two closed doors between me and civilization when taking a dump, this WC would most certainly have been my “Nope, thanks!” when being asked to join the crew.

A racing veteran

Apart from that, the ILLBRUCK has some pretty impressive features still valid. The nav station for example. Navigation back in the day already had been satellite-driven and digital, weather routing and evaluating weather data the digital way by means of a computer was available. So the navigator had his dedicated “nav station” in front of a screen rather than sitting on an old-fashioned chart table .

The Diesel-tank which makes up for the seating of the navigator are tilted in a way that when sailing heeled the navigator would sit upright. I took the seat and closed my eyes for a short minute: I tried to imagine the sound of the waves smashing against the hull, the flow of water alongside – ILLBRUCK´s speed record still stays at whopping 39 knots, which is 72 kilometres per hour. Just try to imagine the sound, roaring winds in the rigging from above, crashing waters from below. Around the world!

Carbon indeed was part of the boat. I spotted the typical matte-black color in form of the power train from the huge grinders to the winches. Again I tried to imagine the sound when two people turn the winches with full power and the clacking and cracking noise of the tubes transmit throughout the boat. It´s a loud awkward sound in normal cruising yachts, just think of it manyfold stranger on this racing machine!

Keeping the legend alive

Oliver is seemingly proud: Along with ex-ILLBRUCK the company owns two more V.O.60, which is ex-SEB (now OSPA) and ex-TOSHIBA (which is now ROSTOCKER). Three V.O.60 yachts identical in construction: The boats can be chartered and match raced under real conditions, skippered by the Speedsailing team. The spirit of racing lives inside the boats, the team around Oliver is creating this worldwide unique atmosphere of high-class offshore racing – and it´s just a one hour drive from my home town!

When I left Oliver after thanking him for his time, I looked back onto this proud fleet. Well maintained and often raced, these veterans of offshore racing are not rusting on a pier or being put on dry stand, de-masted, de-capitated. They keep the spirit alive and – by judging from the atmosphere I was able to grasp there among the Speedsailing-staff – they all love what they do in providing a unique experience. Sitting in my car, driving back home I make a not to myself: “Ask the boss if we could do a match race on these as a big event for our staff.” Maybe as a company´s birthday present.

ILLBRUCK at her big time has been under the command of legendary U.S.-skipper John Kostecki. The first, one and only German boat to ever win this highly well endowed race sported a crew of 12 people of which just one had been German. Nobody cared whatsoever: After setting up a world record of 484 miles in 24 hours and winning the toughest offshore race to date, the boat arrived in Kiel in 2002, being frantically greeted by a fascinated nation. I thought I had heard an echo of this down in her hull. What a chilling cool experience!

Thanks for the tour, Oli!

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• Press Release

Illbruck Victorious in Volvo Ocean Race

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Southampton, England, June 9, 2002 - An ocean race of epic proportions reached its final conclusion today (Sunday, June 9), after 32,700 miles of racing. Winners, losers, glory and defeat, this race has seen it all. A script for an ending such as this could not have been written better. Djuice, the boat that struggled all the way around the planet claimed victory in the leg while illbruck took the race in a convincing manner.

Starting a race as the clear favourite was a heavy burden, but illbruck lived up to the highest expectations right from the start. With a conservative approach illbruck took the early lead in the race even though disaster struck on the first day of leg two as the bow section filled with water and for some dramatic hours it was unclear whether the yacht was in danger of sinking. In an impressive team effort the crew around John Kostecki got the yacht going again in last place, but it took them just a few days to sail straight through the whole fleet on a middle course to reclaim dominance on the fleet. They were rewarded with a spectacular victory in Sydney end never returned the lead on the overall table.

The extremely well organized and developed sail program allowed illbruck to save four new sails for the ultimate leg and they went well armed into the final battle they won against Swedish archrival ASSA ABLOY.

The illbruck Challenge crew finished in Kiel to an enthusiastic reception from friends, family, illbruck employees and customers and the thousands of German sailing fans who have been following the team since the around-the-world race started on September 23, 2001. Sail trimmer and sail designer Ross Halcrow from New Zealand, the only crew member on board illbruck who ever won the America's Cup (1995 with Team NZL) exclaimed enthusiastically: "This welcome has been huge and double as big as whatever I have seen in the America's Cup."

Illbruck was the first German yacht to secure victory in a leg and in the overall race, but they are just continuing a strong German tradition in this race. Peter von Danzig sailed the first race in 1973/74 finishing 14th, followed by Walross III in 1981/82 and Schluessel von Bremen in the 1989/90 race. Inspired from the early competitors, professional sailor Timmy Kroeger sailed the 1993/94 race on Intrum Justitia (second) and 1997/98 on Swedish Match (third).

The first place on this ultimate leg of the Volvo Ocean Race is a big reward for the endurance djuice has shown in their difficult sail around the world. Stricken by gear failure on the first leg and slow boat speed in spite of endless hours of two boat sail testing in the remaining legs djuice managed a second place on the fourth leg to Rio as their second top result. Finally they have overtaken Scandinavian rival SEB, who they put to seventh place in the eight-strong fleet after the disastrous losses of their rudder and mast in the Southern Ocean.

Figures about the number of spectators vary from 50000 to 100000 and the boats on the Kieler Foerde were so tightly packed that one could have crossed the water on dry feet.

Volvo Ocean Race Position Report, Day 2, 1708 GMT

PS Yacht Latitude Longitude DTF CMG SMG TFHR DTL ETA PO

3 AART 54 31.12N 010 17.84E 12 229 11 158 12 09/06/02 18:22 55

4 ATOO 54 31.68N 010 18.88E 13 230 10.9 158 13 09/06/02 18:27 16

5 AONE 54 31.84N 010 19.16E 13 230 11.1 157 13 09/06/02 18:31 44

6 TSEB 54 39.84N 010 36.40E 26 223 11.1 145 26 09/06/02 19:56 32

7 TYCO 54 40.68N 010 38.12E 27 226 11 146 27 09/06/02 20:02 42

8 NEWS 54 41.12N 010 39.32E 28 227 11.1 144 28 09/06/02 20:08 41

Leaderboard

PS Yacht Points

1 illbruck 61

2 ASSA ABLOY 55

3 Amer Sports One 44

5 News Corp 41

6 Djuice 33

7 Team SEB 32

8 Amer Sports Too 16

PS - Position; DTF - Distance to Finish; CMG - Course made good; SMG - Speed made good; TFHR - 24 hours run; DTL - Distance to leader; DTL-C - Distance to leader change; ETA - Estimated time of arrival; PO - accumulated Points

ILBK illbruck Challenge

AONE Amer Sports One

ATOO Amer Sports Two

AART ASSA ABLOY Racing Team

NEWS News Corporation

TYCO Team Tyco

TSEB Team SEB

DJCE djuice dragons

Volvo Ocean Race Background

The Volvo Ocean Race is run every four years. It started in Southampton, England on September 23rd 2001 and finished in Kiel, Germany, on June 9th 2002. Over a period lasting some nine months, the Volvo Ocean Race will reach a broad audience around the world via modern communication technology.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

www.VolvoOceanRace.org

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History 2001-02

Crews 2001-02.

• Volvo became the new owners and sponsors of The Whitbread in 1998.
• The Whitbread 60 was renamed the Volvo Ocean 60. This was the third and last time the class was used.
• A new points scoring system was introduced, allocating equal points for each leg.
• A new Waterford Crystal sculpture entitled Fighting Finish became the winner’s trophy.
• Neal and Lisa McDonald each skippered a boat in the race, the first and only time a married couple have achieved this.
• Roy Heiner was sacked as skipper of ASSA ABLOY after a disappointing result on Leg 1. Neal McDonald stepped up to take his place.
• illbruck narrowly avoided sinking at the start of Leg 2.
• Two yachts dismasted.
• Keith Kilpatrick was evacuated from Amer Sports One in the approach to Sydney after suffering an internal blockage. Amer Sports One then broached spectacularly hours from the finish, causing the skipper to break several ribs.
• The Sydney-Hobart race, which ASSA ABLOY won, became part of the event. The fleet stopped for a three-hour pit stop in Hobart before a rolling start to the second part of the leg to Auckland.
• It was the last time the fleet sailed through the ice fields of the Southern Ocean.
• Göteborg was a stopover port. It was the first time the race had visited Scandinavia.
• The race finish was in Kiel, Germany – the first time the race had finished outside the UK.

Immediately after the start, in 15 knots of wind, all hell broke loose. The boats accelerated, setting their asymmetric spinnakers and within two minutes, an armada of over 400 craft including small dinghies and huge car ferries sprinted into the best position to watch the race. 

Before they had even reached the Needles, Lisa McDonald’s crew on Amer Sports Too watched as their spinnaker disintegrated. In the Bay of Biscay, a storm ripped d juice’s mainsail before the wind subsided almost completely to give the fleet quiet ride to the Doldrums. 

Amer Sports One led for much for of the leg, but in the last few miles, errors caused the destruction of key reaching sails. illbruck passed and won the leg after 31 days of racing. The margin of victory was two hours. Not a single sail had been broken on illbruck . 

Once in Cape Town, several protests were lodged. ASSA ABLOY arrived in fifth place and lodged a protest against illbruck for making illegal use of an internet weather site. The protest was withdrawn after a three-hour hearing. A second protest, lodged this time by a race official, accused illbruck of modifying their propeller drive strut to include a weed cutting device. That protest was upheld and the team fined £1,000. 

Outside the protest room, controversy was raging with equal intensity. A poor showing for ASSA ABLOY on Leg 1 saw skipper Roy Heiner sacked and replaced by Neal McDonald, the first time McDonald had skippered a boat in the race.

Within hours of the start, illbruck reported a problem so serious that Race HQ went on standby for an emergency rescue operation. 

Onboard, the bow seemed to be lower than normal and started taking waves more frequently. The boat sailed slower and slower and he crew could not keep her going anymore. They eventually found that an inspection port on the bow had come off and the entire forward compartment had flooded. It took two hours of pumping and bailing before the situation was controlled and illbruck could start racing again. 

Three days later, Tyco suffered damage to the rudder. She headed for Port Elizabeth to make repairs, but discovered the rudder and bearings needed rebuilding. The team retired from the leg and the boat was shipped to Sydney. 

Keith Kilpatrick on Amer Sports One had serious problems with stomach pains caused by an intestinal blockage that could have been fatal if not treated. The boat was out of range for an airborne medical evacuation, but as Kilpatrick’s condition worsened, the supplies of morphine and antibiotics began to dwindle. The Australian Air Force and Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre airdropped new supplies and navigator Roger Nilson, a qualified doctor, set up an intravenous drip while the boat was doing 20 knots through the Southern Ocean. As soon as Amer Sports One reached safer waters, Kilpatrick was taken off by RIB. 

On board SEB , navigator Marcel van Triest learned his mother had died, so he jumped off the boat and into a waiting RIB as soon as the team was near Eclipse Island. SEB was in the lead but with 48 hours to go, illbruck pulled level and News Corp and ASSA ABLOY were on their tails. 

illbruck crossed the finish line first for the second time, a remarkable result after their early problems. SEB came in shortly after and News Corp took third. In fifth was Amer Sports One , who performed a spectacular broach in the final stages of the leg causing the skipper, Grant Dalton, to break several ribs.

During the Sydney stopover, news spread of the tragic murder of 1989-90 race winner, Sir Peter Blake in the Amazon. Three weeks later, after some crew had returned to England for Blake’s funeral, Leg 3 began. 

Knut Frostad on djuice reported a serious leak which saw her bow compartments fill with water - in much the same way as illbruck’s had flooded on the second leg - and they lost four miles while crew bailed out. 

Amer Sports Too suffered a failure of a strop in the headstay, forcing the crew to drop all their sails in order to save the mast. The team carried on and replaced the strop in Hobart. 

SEB retired from the leg after her main rudder became damaged, while out in front ASSA ABLOY was caught in the middle of a waterspout. 

After a three-hour pit stop in Hobart, where ASSA ABLOY claimed the winner’s prize for the Sydney-Hobart element of the race, the teams they set off in a rolling order for Auckland. 

The run to Auckland was, by comparison, plain sailing and ASSA ABLOY continued on winning form, however, below deck, Jason Carrington, a key member of the crew, had fallen seriously ill after collapsing on deck just after the Hobart restart. He was confined to his bunk where he was joined shortly afterwards by two other crew who had also become incapacitated through illness and injury. Rather than slow ASSA ABLOY , she stormed to victory. Amer Sports One was second and Tyco third. Overall winner, illbruck , could only manage fourth.

The Southern Ocean beckoned and this time the icebergs were bigger and more frightening than ever. Even before the first sightings were made, SEB had lost her mast on day 12. 

Everyone was worried about the amount of ice. Some reckoned racing through the ice fields had become too dangerous. Huge icebergs and growlers peppered the course and it was illbruck who led the fleet around Cape Horn. On St Valentine’s Day, the rudder of News Corp snapped off. Earlier in the leg, she had possibly hit ice at 21 knots and it was not known if the rudder damage was a delayed consequence. To make matters worse, her transom also cracked, but the crew made repairs and pressed on. 

After almost 7,000 miles of racing as the end of the leg neared, the five leading boats were locked into the tightest of battles in fickle winds. It was djuice who saw an opportunity away from the fleet. She moved inshore and found a gentle breeze while ASSA ABLOY and Tyco struggled in no wind at all. This propelled djuice to finished second to illbruck .

Shortly after the start in Rio de Janeiro, SEB tried to duck illbruck's transom, but missed and clipped her side. No-one was hurt but illbruck’s hull was left with a hole in it the size of a fist, scratch marks down the side and no aft stanchion or guardrails. The hole was filled before dark and the crew of SEB admitted to the mistake. 

Slowing down to make repairs cost illbruck precious miles, which in the end, made little difference.

Nine days into the leg, the three leading boats had crossed the Doldrums, where black clouds and shifty winds had proved frustrating. 

ASSA ABLOY, Tyco and illbruck swapped places at the front, but it was ASSA ABLOY who arrived first in Miami. This was ASSA ABLOY’S second victory and established them as illbruck’s main opposition with five legs still to race.

The first of the short sprint part of the course started with six of the eight boats in the fleet over the line at the start. They had to return and cross the start line correctly while the ASSA ABLOY and Amer Sports Too sailed away towards Baltimore and the currents and lobster pots that lay in wait in the Chesapeake Bay. 

By day three, News Corp had moved ahead of illbruck and ASSA ABLOY , but competition was fierce between the first three boats with less than five miles separating them. The next day, Amer Sports One had joined them and with sails flapping, the boats sat motionless, waiting for a bit of luck. 

In Rio, many had thought illbruck was unbeatable, but with three legs to go, the race was as wide open as it had been after the first leg with ASSA ABLOY, Amer Sports One and News Corp showing some serious form. N ews Corp found the wind first and crossed the finish in first place, which narrowed illbruck’s lead to just seven points.

The fleet emerged from Chesapeake Bay without incident and by the third day, illbruck had worked her way to the front. Powered by 25 to 30 knots of winds, the crew realised they were in with a chance of setting a new record and 24 hours later they had achieved 484 nautical miles. 

While illbruck was celebrating her good fortune, Amer Sports Too was facing total wipe out. Just over 400 miles from the coast of Canada, she dismasted just above the second spreaders. She headed to Halifax in Nova Scotia, where the boat was shipped to the UK to be repaired before the start of Leg 8. 

Onboard illbruck ‘flu broke out, but didn’t stand in the way of a commanding win. ASSA ABLOY and Tyco traded places all the way to the finish line, where A SSA ABLOY finished second to illbruck . ASSA ABLOY was eight points behind illbruck but with 16 points still available from the two remaining legs, there was still a chance. 

Amer Sports Too left Halifax on a ship for Europe, giving the crew 10 days to step a new mast and prepare for the start of the next leg. Against all the odds, they completed the repairs in Gosport and reached La Rochelle in time. When they arrived in La Rochelle, having been battered by storms, they were given a rapturous welcome as fellow crews and the public turned out to acknowledge their bravery and determination.

The first night was one of the most unpleasant of the race due to the huge swells in the Bay of Biscay, combined with 40 knots of breeze on the nose and many of the crews were seasick. Moments after the start, two crew were in the water trying to free ASSA ABLOY from the start buoy, and it was Amer Sports One who was first round Ushant. 

At the entrance to the Gothenburg archipelago, ASSA ABLOY, Tyco, illbruck and News Corp were within a mile of each other. With two miles to go after 1,000 miles of close racing, ASSA ABLOY went close to the shore to avoid the tide and chiselled out a victory in the last few seconds. The top five boats crossed the finish within six minutes and 50 seconds in what was, at the time, the most thrilling finish in the history of round-the-world racing.

For the final short sprint to the finish line, the boats were completely stripped out and many skippers decided to take less crew. At the start, 2,000 spectator boats made life tricky for the skippers, who were confined to a narrow channel. ASSA ABLOY almost collided with a spectator boat and then was becalmed. 

The course was shortened so the race would finish in daylight and djuice claimed a win at the 11th hour, her first victory of the race. illbruck came second and won the race overall having posted four wins, two seconds and three fourth places.

Ed Adams, Stu Bannatyne, Stuart Bethany, Mark Christensen, Richard Clarke, Ray Davies, Noel Drennan, Jamie Gale, Ross Halcrow, Tony Kolb, John Kostecki, Ian Moore, Dirk de Ridder, Joan Vila

Guillermo Altadill, Roberto 'Chuny' Bermúdez, Jason Carrington, Sidney Gavignet, Roy Heiner, Mike Howard, Herve Jan, Michael Joubert, Chris Larson, Richard Mason, Jules Mazars, Neal McDonald, Klas Nylöf, Magnus Olsson, Mark Rudiger, Joshua Alexander, Stuart Wilson

Amer Sports One

Phil Airey, Bouwe Bekking, Jeff Brock, Paul Cayard, Claudio Celon, Grant Dalton, Keith Kilpatrick, Fredrik Loof, Chris Nicholson, Roger Nilson, Peter Pendleton, Pepe Ribes, Stefano Rizzi, Dee Smith

Jim Close, Jan Dekker, Richard Dodson, David Endean, Damian Foxall, Steve Hayles, Brad Jackson, Richard Meacham, Gerard Mitchell, Timothy Powell, Mike Quilter, Guy Salter, Rob Salthouse, Kevin Shoebridge, Grant Spanhake, Jonathan Swain

Stuart Childerley, Steve Cotton, Peter Dorien, Damien Duke, Jez Fanstone, Campbell Field, Ross Field, Jon Gunderson, Matt Humphries, Peter Isler, Nigel King, Gordon Maguire, Alby Pratt, Jeremy Robinson, Jeffrey Scott, Justin Slattery, Craig Smith, Joe Spooner, Barney Walker, Nick White

Jean-Yves Bernot, David Blanchfield, Thomas Colville, Herve Cunnigham, Peter Dorien, Knut Frostad, Steve Gruver, Espen Guttormsen, Terry Hutchinson, David Jarvis, Christian Horn Johansson, Mikael Lundh, Peter Merrington, Anthony Nossiter, Franck Proffit, Arvé Roaas, Jeffrey Scott, Wouter Verbraak, Jacques Vincent, Jonas Wackenhuth, Stig Westergaard, Grant Wharington, Erle Williams

Rodney Ardern, Scott Beavis, Pascal Bidégorry, Gavin Brady, Tom Braidwood, Sean Clarkson, Gareth Cooke, Steve Cotton, Jon Gunderson, Matthew Humphries, Rodney Keenan, Glenn Kessels, Gunnar Krantz, Santiago Lange, Anthony Merrington, Tony Mutter, Anthony Rey, Mark Reynolds, David Rolfe, Marcel van Triest, Magnus Woxén

Amer Sports Too

Christine Briand, Carolijn Brouwer, Joanna Burchell, Anna Drougge, Sharon Ferris, Eleanor Hay, Keryn Henderson, Willemien van Hoeve, Lisa McDonald, Miranda Merron, Katherine Pettibone, Melissa Purdy, Emma Richards, Abigail Seager, Bridget Suckling, Liz Wardley, Emma Westmacott, Genevieve White, Klaartje Zuiderbaan

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Former winner illbruck on start line for Volvo Ocean Legends Race

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PLUS: YACHT RACING; Illbruck Sets Record In Volvo Race

By The Associated Press

• May 2, 2002

The Illbruck Challenge set a world record by sailing 484 nautical miles in 24 hours during the seventh leg of the Volvo Ocean Race.

The record for a monohull, set Monday, is subject to confirmation and ratification by the International Sailing Federation. Favorable conditions, including a three-knot push from the Gulf Stream, aided the record-breaking run.

The 24-hour monohull world record was held by Bernard Stamm on the Open 60 Armor Lux, which covered 467.70 nautical miles during a trans-Atlantic record attempt last year.

Illbruck Challenge, the overall leader, won the first, second and fourth legs of the nine-leg, round-the-world race. The race is scheduled to finish June 9 in Kiel, Germany.

, four oceans, nine countries, and ten ports, the German boat returned home today as the winner of the marathon Volvo Ocean Race.  Tens of thousands of spectators welcomed the victorious and seven other boats to Kiel at the conclusion of an epic sailing race that has been hotly contested since it began last September in Southampton, England.  Spectator boats were so abundant in the Kieler Foerde home stretch that some people joked it was possible to cross the water without getting your feet wet.

which generally performed poorly throughout the race, gained some redemption by winning the final stage.

the overall third-place winner. It was a satisfying result for a team that showed amazing tenacity through a race laden with mishaps and tough luck.

"We've battled with drama on the high seas, we've worked really hard on our crew work and our communications, and maneuvering of the boat and our working with the sail program, and I think that has started to pay off for us."

Volvo Ocean Race 2005/6 - Youtube

So, are there any takers among the current entrants? "Right now I'd say no," said ASSA ABLOY' s McDonald. "But in about 20 minutes time, after a few beers, I would say yes, of course I would!"

Round-the-World Racers Lend a Hand to Science   April 26, 2002

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The Ocean Race : Just like 21 years ago - the big guide to the fly-by in Kiel

Tatjana Pokorny

 ·  08.06.2023

When you think of the Ocean Race and the Schleswig-Holstein state capital of Kiel, the triumphant voyage of the "Illbruck" in the 2002 Volvo Ocean Race immediately springs to mind. Back then, it was also on 9 June that Michael Illbruck's team on the green and white Ocean Race yacht secured victory in the race around the world. It was the first victory for a German boat in the history of the most famous round-the-world race for teams, which started in 1973 as the Whitbread Round the World Race.

Second place behind the "Djuice Dragons" on the final leg from Gothenburg to Kiel was enough for the Illbruck Challenge to triumph two decades ago. With 61 points after a total of nine Ocean Race legs at the time, the crew relegated their Swedish rivals on "Assa Abloy" (55 points) and Grant Dalton's "Amer Sports One" (44 points) to second and third place. Hundreds of thousands of fans witnessed the "green miracle" live in the Sailing City and celebrated the success. 21 years later, the Ocean Race is now returning to Kiel with a German boat and several German sailors.

The sixth stage starts the evening before in Aarhus

The route of the 14th Ocean Race will take the fleet on the sixth and penultimate leg from Aarhus in Denmark via Kiel to The Hague in Holland from 8 June. The starting signal in Aarhus will be given at 6 pm in the evening. The fleet will reach the Kiel Fjord on the afternoon of 9 June. A turning mark directly in front of the Ocean Live Park (at the level of Camp 24/7) on the Kiellinie will bring the sailors very close to the shore and to the fans.

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The hosts are expecting a high level of interest over the three days of the event. The Ocean Live Park will open in Kiel on 8 June at 3 pm. Live broadcasts to Aarhus, an attractive main stage programme and many well-known guests from the world of sailing will provide entertainment during the fly-by. Ocean Race legends from the past and stars of tomorrow will be there. Fans in Kiel will also be able to watch the starting signal in Aarhus live on the big screen. Visitors can expect plenty of infotainment from Kiel's Reventlouwiese to the Admiral's Bridge of the Geomar Institute.

How the fly-by should work

The day before the arrival, the Ocean Race Summit and Kiel Marketing will present the Marine Conservation City Day in Ocean Live Park. The aim of the large hands-on and cultural programme for ocean fans of all ages is to "anchor" the local importance and opportunities of marine conservation in Kiel in a tangible way.

On 9 June, the Ocean Live Park will open its gates at 12 noon as the fleet approaches Kiel. The boats are expected to arrive at Kiel Lighthouse at around 3 pm on "Furious Friday". The rounding of the turning mark in front of the keel line is planned for around 4 pm. The fairway will be closed from 15 to 17 and will only be available to the Ocean Race yachts. According to race director Phil Lawrence, it will already be a challenge to hit this time slot well. The fleet will then be escorted into the fjord and protected. Lawrence emphasises that spectator boats sailing around everywhere should be avoided as a matter of urgency: "The biggest risk is collisions in the spectator fleet." He is convinced that everyone will get a good spot and asks: "Stay out of the main channel until the last boat has rounded the buoy and the fleet is on its way out again. Then you can follow."

Live on your own keel

Interested skippers and captains of spectator boats should position themselves to the east or west of the fairway in good time for the highlight on the afternoon of 9 June, as this must be kept clear for the Ocean Race fleet. A so-called Exclusion Zone will be available exclusively to the Ocean Race teams. A helicopter will accompany the fleet out of the fjord until 5 p.m. and transmit images so that spectators can follow the race live until the early evening. In the evening, a concert will be served up on the stage in Kiel's Ocean Live Park.

On land, the spectacle will be commented on throughout. The three-day sailing festival ends on 10 June with a Waszp regatta and the Kiel ESailing Cup. Just one week later, on 17 June, the starting signal is given for the Kiel Week . Their sporting conductor Dirk Ramhorst says: "The visit of the Ocean Race fleet on 9 June will bring back memories of the Ocean Race victory of the 'Illbruck' in 2002, when hundreds of thousands stood on the beach with green gloves and a goosebump atmosphere prevailed. I myself will also be taking part in the fly-by as a volunteer and hope for a great atmosphere on and around the Kiel Fjord one week before Kiel Week.

The Kiel Fly-by in the LIVE ticker on yacht.de

A live ticker will be set up here on yacht.de for all those at home. We will be reporting live from Kiel, as always close to the action. To make sure you don't miss anything, it will also be worthwhile for everyone in Kiel to take a look at the ticker.

The programme at a glance

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Illbruck begins Volvo Ocean Race campaign

• April 6, 1999

Illbruck 1 and 2, previously the team EF boats in the Whitbread, have started training in Spain

iLLBRUCK ROUND THE WORLD CHALLENGE BEGINS TWO BOAT TESTING IN SPAIN:

The illbruck Round the World Challenge started-two boat testing yesterday on Tuesday in Sanxenxo, Spain. Sanxenxo, is a small village located in Galicia, on the Atlantic Coast, which is on the northwest corner of Spain.

We have the newly-refurbished and identical Volvo 60’s illbruck 1 and illbruck 2, which were formally the EF Whitbread 60’s from Sweden. Both the boats spent the winter in a boatyard in Hamburg, Germany getting refitted after the last Whitbread race. The boats are now sporting the new illbruck image paint jobs, including the fading green to white bow sections. The boats are in racing condition, which made sailing on our first day easy.

We have assembled a crew of 18 here in Spain for approximately five weeks of testing. We will be doing a combination of day sailing and offshore sailing with the two boats side by side, testing various equipment. This allows us to test different sail shapes and boat configuations easily and what we learn here we can apply to our new boat and sails for the 2001-2002 Volvo Ocean Race.

We have a international team here, with crew from seven of the nine boats from the last Whitbread Around the World Race. Some of the talent here includes, Mark Christensen, from the winning EF language, Jason Carrington and Stu Bannatyne from Silk Cut, Juan Vila and myself from Chessie Racing, Jared Hendersen from Merit Cup, Lisa Charles from EF Education, Timmy Kroger from Swedish Match, and Ross Halcrow from Kvaerner. Having the talent from seven of the teams from the last Whitbread allows us to share ideas from the top boats in the last race.

The illbruck Round the World Challenge is focused on winning the 2001-2002 Volvo Ocean Race with an international team. We will keep you updated on our progress, from shore or sea, these next five weeks.

John Kostecki Skipper, illbruck Round the World Challenge

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Volvo Ocean Race: Team Vestas Wind Abandoned on Reef After Grounding

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Image via Team Alvimedica

Update: Team Vestas Wind’s VOR 65 Aground [PHOTO]

UPDATE: 0300 UTC 30 Nov

Volvo Ocean Race Control has had it confirmed that the Team Vestas Wind crew has now been rescued and will stay on the Íle du Sud, where there is a house and some facilities. All the crew is safe and nobody is injured. Team Vestas Wind is making plans with Volvo Ocean Race on how to transport the crew off the island as well as how to salvage the boat. Team Alvimedica has now been released and will continue racing towards Abu Dhabi. Knut Frostad, CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race, said: “I’m extremely relieved that every one of the nine crew members now are safe and that nobody is injured. That has always been our first priority since we first learned about the grounding. “At the same time, I’m deeply saddened that this happened to Team Vestas Wind and Chris Nicholson and his team. It’s devastating for the team, for the race and for everyone involved. I really feel for Chris and the team right now and we will continue to support them all the way going forward.”

At 1510 UTC, Team Vestas Wind , a 65-foot sailing yacht racing in the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) grounded on the Cargados Carajos Shoals, Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean and has been abandoned according to race organizers.

A press release by the Volvo Ocean Race notes two life rafts have been deployed while the stern “was being beaten on rocks of the reef.”

The bow is pointing out to sea, however both rudders are broken. The mast remains upright and the bow of the vessel remains above the water, however, “the current plan remains to abandon the boat at daylight with the assistance of the coastguard at Íle du Sud as well as Team Alvimedica,” according to race organizers.

Charles Caudrelier, skipper of Team Dongfeng notes in comment,

“We are offshore in the middle of nowhere, and on the chart, if you don’t go on the maximum zoom you can’t see anything.”

The Volvo Ocean Race skippers are relying on electronic charts to make their way around the world and in this case, the limitations of such charts appear to have let them down.

“When I was looking at the navigation a few days ago, checking these things, it took a long time for me to find them,” adds Caudrelier.

His team narrowly missed the rocks thanks to a last-minute gybe.

Team Alvimedica is anchored on site and is awaiting daylight before providing more direct assistance. The situation is, however stable and there have been no injuries.

VOR CEO Knut Frostad commented on the situation,

“It’s complicated – but everything’s stable, and under control.

“I think the challenge with the current situation is that, first of all, it’s in a very remote part of the planet, far away from ships, ports and services,” he adds.

“The closest large civilisation is in Mauritius which is more than 200 nm from this location.”

The coast guard station at Isle de Sud, approximately 1.5 km from the boat has been contacted and has a RHIB availabl

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