November 2017 33Charlie Enright and Mark Towill have
assembled a strong crew for Vestas
11th Hour Racing. They’ve got the
race-winning navigator from last
time, Britain’s Simon Fisher, and
other former race winners such as
Damian Foxall (Ireland), Phil Harmer
(Australia) and Tony Mutter (New
Zealand). British Olympic squad
sailor Hannah Diamond
and reigning 49er
world champion from
Denmark, Jena Mai
Hansen, will be on their
first offshore adventure.
This is a team with plenty of
experience sailing together and in
David Witt they have a leader who
speaks his mind. The straight-talking
Australian is back in the race 20 years
after he competed aboard Innovation
Kvaerner and while Scallywag is
not expected to make the podium
there is still some good skill on
board including British
navigator Steve Hayles
and young Australian
Luke Parkinson.
Scallywag starts with
just seven men.Turn the Tide on Plastic is a mixed,
youth-focussed team with a strong
sustainability message, led by
Britain’s Dee Caffari. Caffari has put
together a 50:50 male-female squad,
with the majority under 30 years of
age. Among many interesting crew
selections are Irish Olympian Annalise
Murphy and young cat sailor Bleddyn
Môn, who raced aboard
Land Rover BAR in the
America’s Cup. Both of
these young sailors are
about to go ocean racing
for the first time.No one has sailed more miles in the
Volvo Ocean Race than Team Brunel
skipper Bouwe Bekking. After seven
editions, the 54-year-old skipper is
still seeking his first win but has some
useful experience alongside Australian
veteran Andrew Cape. Former Te a m
SCA crew Annie Lush brings a lot
of power to her role. America’s Cup
winner Pete Burling, is
on board and, like his
Olympic crewmate Blair
Tuke, is going for an
unprecedented sailing
‘triple crown’.Vestas 11th Hour Racing Sun HungKai/Scallywag Turn the Tide on Plastic Team Brunel