Volvo Ocean Race

Nerve-racking maneuvers, frighteningly heavy seas, tropical heat and Antarctic ice fields – the overwhelming victory at the fiercest offshore regatta in the world, the Volvo Ocean Race 2001/02, ranks among the biggest German achievements in professional offshore sailing. For a time of nine months and more than 32,700 nautical miles, the internationally manned crew steered the German yacht round the globe to victory.

The Volvo Ocean Race, where every four years the best sailing teams of different countries compete against each other, ran from Southampton to Kiel in 2001/02 – nine stages, with the team being faced with new challenges. The Volvo Ocean Race, which was brought into being as the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1973, is more than a mere sailing adventure. Utmost euphoria and extreme despair are steady companions of the crews while being for months in the open sea and on land. The hundred percent faith in all team members and the perfect command of the high-tech boat that can reach a top speed of up to 40 knots (approx. 70 km/h)are of utmost importance.

 

As they sailed into Kiel to pass the winning post on June 09, 2002, one of the fiercest and most spectacular sailing regattas in the world came to an end for the crew of the high-tech racer. Exuberant exultation broke out among the whole team.

 

Also more than 200,000 sailing-struck spectators went wild with delight at the shore lines of Kiel Fjord, when the green-white racing yacht crossed the finishing line at the Blücher bridge. The crew, however, had to fear losing an overall victory right up to the end. But the crew, which was deemed to be top favorite due to her first-grade crew, won this ocean marathon in the narrowest finish ever in the history of the Volvo Ocean Race. With this victory, the team sparked an incredible sailing enthusiasm that was unique in Germany at that time. For the first time in the history of this deep-sea classic, a German yacht had won the race.
Michael illbruck, the boss of the challenge team, was overwhelmed with joy and dumbfounded when he appeared in front of a throng of microphones and cameras: “I am immensely proud of the whole team and this tremendous victory. This grand victory is the result of hard and painstaking preparation for this race – and an excellently functioning crew.”