Ocean Race: Guyot’s Sailing Again – And “More Excited Than Ever” | NDR.de – Sports

by Matthew Heydrich

“The race is still long and we still have five points-scoring chances,” team leader Robert Stanjic said on Thursday. “We still believe we can achieve our target with a third or fourth place. We are more motivated than ever to show what we’ve made.”

Berliner is currently watching the race and has taken Guyot to Brazil from afar and back home to relax. “I was away for over ten weeks and now I’m back to everyday life,” says Stanjic. “I help my wife and spend a lot of time with the kids, which I really enjoy.”

On March 13 or 14, he and also Commander Benjamin Dutroux will fly to Itagai to prepare for Phase 4, which will drive over 5,500 nautical miles to Newport/USA. Stanjic was not originally intended for “Leg 4”, which begins on April 23rd. However, the team decided to send the same crew into the race as they did for the third stage.

“We have to turn everything that happened into strength for the next stage. It is clear that we will never give up.”
Guyot Commander Benjamin Dutroux

Led by Dutreux, who particularly highlighted the performance of the technicians: “It was actually a whole month’s work, but we said if we wanted to get back to the races we had to do it in a week.”

In two weeks in Brazil

And they did it. Repairs to Guyot’s hull were made faster than expected in the improvised workshop in Cape Town. On Thursday morning, Sebastien Simon and the German Philippe Cassock of the sailing crew, reporter Charles Drapeau and artists Clovis Gauthier and Jimmy Le Baute set sail to bring Guyot to Brazil. The team will need about two weeks to sail to Itagai.

Damage to the hull of the ship in the third stage

Three days after the start of the third stage, Guyot’s crew discovered the damage to the hull and decided to return to Cape Town. It was bittersweet for the team, but Stanjic and company were fortunate in their plight: If trouble had arisen later, in the depths of the Southern Ocean, it could have been insidious. So the boat had only gone about 1,000 km and getting back to South Africa wasn’t much of a problem.

Stanjic: “There’s a painful gap”

A little solace for Stanjik. “There is a gap in this circumnavigation. There is a gap that hurts a lot because it was the most attractive stage for me,” the 41-year-old told rbb. “Sailing the Southern Ocean and sailing around Cape Horn – that was a lifelong dream.” He’s been working towards this for years.

The other four boats are currently experiencing this sailing adventure. They have to deal with difficult conditions and numerous reforms, and the pressure on people and materials is enormous. “I am impressed with how they solved their problems at this difficult stage,” said Stanjic, disappointed that it took him some time before he could follow the tracker again.

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But now Berlin is back in racing mode and has his eyes on the competition for Team Malaysia (“a very strong boat for big waves”): “Holcim is clearly the strongest boat all around. They have a very strong and experienced crew. It will be very difficult to beat them.”

Team Holcim, led by Skipper Kevin Escoffier, is currently the clear leader in the overall standings with 15 points. Due to an abandonment in the third stage, which contains two points, Guyot goes empty-handed and takes last place with two points.

Stanjek and co are currently saving themselves from looking at the painting. “We are happy to be back in Brazil,” said the German. The cards are then modified in the process of searching for sailing around the world.

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