It took until the final In-Port Race, but Dee Caffari’s Turn the Tide on Plastic moved off the bottom of the leaderboard on Saturday, securing sixth place in the Volvo Ocean Race.
© Marina Garcia/Volvo Ocean Race
The day started with SHK/Scallywag and Turn the Tide on Plastic with equal points on the overall race leaderboard. The tie-break mechanism is a team’s position in the In-Port Race Series and there, David Witt’s Scallywags held the advantage by a three-point margin.
But if Caffari could level the score or get ahead on the In-Port Series leaderboard, then her team would lift themselves into a sixth place finish overall by winning the tie-break.
A lot of things would need to go right for Caffari, and incredibly, it all came to pass.
It didn’t look good early when Turn the Tide on Plastic was penalised for not keeping clear of team AkzoNobel on a close cross. But at the next mark rounding, Scallywag hooked onto the mark, and was stopped while the rest of the fleet sailed past.
Eventually they freed themselves, but they were well behind and running out of time to catch up.
The last place result for Scallywag, combined with a hard-fought fourth place finish for Turn the Tide on Plastic, means Dee Caffari’s team sit in sixth place for the first time in the race.
That wasn’t the only scoreboard move on Saturday. Hometown hero Bouwe Bekking’s Team Brunel had a perfect start and led the race from beginning to end. That win, combined with a third place finish by team AkzoNobel mean the two Dutch skippers are tied for third on the In-Port Race Series, with Bekking winning the tie-break for the final podium spot by virtue of the better position in the final race.
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Volvo Ocean Race In-Port Race Series Leaderboard - Final
1. MAPFRE – 64 points
2. Dongfeng Race Team – 56 points
3. Team Brunel – 50 points
4. team AkzoNobel – 50 points
5. Vestas 11th Hour Racing – 35 points
6. Turn the Tide on Plastic – 25 points
7. Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag – 25 points
Volvo Ocean Race Overall Points Leaderboard - Final
1. Dongfeng Race Team – 73 points
2. MAPFRE – 70 points
3. Team Brunel – 69 points
4. team AkzoNobel – 59 points
5. Vestas 11th Hour Racing – 39 points
6. Turn the Tide on Plastic – 32 points *
7. SHK / Scallywag – 32 points *
* Should there be a tie on the Overall Race Leaderboard at the end of the offshore legs, the In-Port Race Series standings will be used to break the tie.
** Should there be a tie on the In-Port Race Series leaderboard, the tie will be broken in favour of the team with the better result in the final race.
