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Illbruck wins Leg 1 of Volvo Ocean Race
Illbruck finished first in the first leg of the first ever Volvo Ocean Race. When German illbruck with skipper John Kostecki from the United States crossed the line the second boat Amer Sports One with Grant Dalton still had 13 miles to sail, having lost one mile to the leader during the past hour.
Even though Amer Sports One was in a safe distance, the illbruck crew did not back off, but kept pushing till the very last minute, close reaching in more than 30 knots of wind and two meter waves. Then the yacht came out of the darkness, as shiny in green and white as she left Southampton more than a month ago.
Right after crossing the finish line, illbruck’s support boat with syndicate head Michael Illbruck on board approached the racing yacht to celebrate this victory.
Earlier John Kostecki wrote in his last e-mail: “We always believed we could catch Amer Sports One. The question was how? We were able to do it by having better reaching boat speed and great crew manoeuvres changing sails in the shifty south-westerly breeze. “
Another hour, and she will hit the dock too, with 12 smelly guys longing for beer and all sorts of food. When illbruck crossed the line, Amer Sports One, the second place had 16 miles to go.
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