If he was stressed or nervous about it, he did not show it through the Abu Dhabi stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race.
In fact, Dongfeng Race Team’s skipper Charles Caudrelier passed off the stresses of sailing a home leg for the Chinese entry with a bit of Gallic cool.
No real pressure, he said at the pre-leg news conference.
That proved well wide of the mark, as the relief when he led them to an ultimately comfortable – and historic – leg win in Sanya yesterday was almost palpable.
“It’s the most stressful leg I’ve ever done in my life,” Caudrelier said, minutes after crossing the line. “But the result is fantastic.” Fittingly, the boat arrived as the sun was rising, 23 days, 13 hours and 31 minutes after setting off from Abu Dhabi, more than 4,600 nautical miles away.
They finished the leg three hours ahead of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s Azzam and have taken a one-point overall lead in the race.
It was the first-leg win by a Chinese boat or a Chinese sailor.
China have twice backed entries in the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) but neither the Green Dragon in 2008/09 nor Team Sanya in 2011/12 could achieve the feat.
They had their moments, but Dongfeng dominated the leg from the start.
They took the lead soon after leaving Abu Dhabi and were never headed.
At one stage they were more than 100nm in front and, despite the lead being cut down to as little as 10, they held on.
The enormity of what Dongfeng have accomplished – some of the Chinese sailors could not speak a word of English nor had ever spent a night at sea when the project began in February last year – will take time to sink in.
“We take the lead on the first day and we had to keep it,” Caudrelier said.
“We had to arrive first here because it was very important for me and for the project, so we are so proud.
“One year ago we were here and we were discovering the Chinese sailors who were rookies, and now they win the leg – it’s just fantastic.
“Maybe in the first time in offshore sailing something like this has happened – in just one year these guys have become great sailors. I am so proud, this is everything I wanted but I didn’t dare think about.”
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