On board with the Dutch Team JaJo during the Ocean Race: ‘Are we doing something wrong?’

Wednesday June 7

A day before the race is always double, says Brend Schuil, who sails as an onboard reporter on the boat of Team Jajo, named after the main sponsor, construction company Jajo Groep. On the one hand there is still room for relaxation; one team member withdraws for a while to call family, others play a game together.

But there is also increasing competition tension, perhaps even greater than usual, because it has been a while since the crew was allowed to take office. They sail in a VO65 boat, a one-class boat that only competes in the three European legs of the Ocean Race because enough money could not be raised to sail the full seven-race course. After the first stage from Alicante to Cape Verde, they had to wait five months for their next race.

The days before were all about preparing the boat for competition and discussing as many scenarios as possible that could occur. “On board you actually have no time to think if something happens,” says Schuil. “You try to discuss well in advance what you will do in which situation.”

And a lot has to be done at the last minute: after the team has eaten a pizza on the veranda of their house near the Danish starting port of Aarhus, the latest weather forecasts are reviewed. It promises to be a short, hectic stage, through busy shipping routes and with many weather changes. A mistake can quickly cause big differences. That is why skipper Jelmer van Beek asks his team for full focus on the eve: “One joke per hour seems enough to me.” To which his British teammate Joy Fitzgerald responds: “Why are you looking at me now?”

Thursday June 8

The start, crew member Nicholas Heiner tells his team, is the most important thing. „The rich will only get richer”, with which he just wants to indicate that it is better to start in a good position so that you can build on it, than to immediately have to chase. The team has trained a lot on the start, which is all about timing: the boats don’t lie still at sea, so the trick is to arrive exactly at the imaginary start line when the starting gun sounds.

Just before the start it becomes clear how difficult that is: competitor Wind Whisperer from Poland has to apply the brakes in order not to cross the line too early. Team Jajo, on the other hand, has a perfect start and immediately takes the lead. This is gradually expanded in the first part of the race.

But from the moment the northerly course towards Norway is set, Wind Whisperer and Mirpuri from Denmark get closer and closer. Their speed is higher, they notice at the Dutch boat. “That makes you very nervous,” says Schuil, “because even if it is only half a knot faster, you can see them coming closer. And you think: what is it about? Is it the wind, are we doing something wrong? That eats at you.” In the evening the two other boats pass Team Jajo.

Friday June 9

It is Friday morning when the A4 headsail, a large asymmetrical spinnaker that can be used in strong winds, completely tears off. The boats have just passed the buoy off the Norwegian town of Langesund, are still within fifteen nautical miles (28 kilometers) of each other and with the easterly wind now is the time to go full steam ahead. “I think we were at 10 percent of the part where we needed that sail,” says Jorden van Rooijen. “It was very painful to see the other boats sail away.”

Without headsail A4, Team Jajo cannot sail the same course as the other boats, because then they do not use the sails they still have optimally. Navigator Max Deckers devises a ruse: he is the only one of the five boats to set a westerly course, avoiding a busy shipping route for freight traffic. With the detour he hopes to find better wind at a later time so that he can make up for the backlog.

“It didn’t look so good at the beginning,” says Deckers, but the team perseveres. When the navigator goes to sleep on Friday evening and wakes up after an hour, he looks at his screen to see where the rest is. “We were again next to the front runners. That gave a huge boost.”

In the meantime, Van Rooijen and another crew member bent over the torn sail. For four hours they use drills to make holes and ‘sew’ the torn pieces together with tie wraps. “You just use everything you have on board,” says Van Rooijen. A video shows him hanging in the mast when the sail is hoisted again. As the wind whistles around his ears, he feels the repaired part. His face glows. „It fucking works”, he says with a grin.

Saturday June 10

The night from Friday to Saturday is one of continuously changing weather systems. Then again there is hardly any wind, then again a lot. To sail the ideal route in those circumstances requires many course changes, and each time the whole team has to act. Even if it is their turn to rest in the ‘four hours on, four hours off’ schedule.

Sleeping is now almost impossible. Skipper Van Beek takes a nap on his hand, leaning on the chart table, navigator Deckers takes a nap on a bench in the hold and crew member Rutger Vos dozes off on deck. “Every ten minutes has now been taken,” says reporter Schuil. “You keep going.”

That morning the boat sails through the full fog, it is freezing cold. But they are second, and are still fully competing for the win. There is a day with little wind, so the team has to work hard. “If you lose attention with little wind, you will come to a standstill,” says skipper Van Beek. “So everyone had to be super focused.”

Sunday June 11

Next to the National Monument for the Royal Netherlands Navy, people point their binoculars towards the sea. They peer over the rows of beachgoers enjoying the warm weather on Scheveningen beach. A three-master is anchored a few hundred meters from the coast, marking the finish of the sixth leg.

On the Jajo boat, the crew now mainly works on adrenaline. “You know that there will be a euphoric feeling when you enter your home port,” says Van Rooijen. “That keeps you going.”

Along the Dutch coast, the team is joined by dozens of smaller boats that sail the last part of the route. They have to go full throttle to keep up with the sailboat. Enjoyment has begun on board. “So many boats sailed from IJmuiden, that was really great,” says Van Beek with a smile.

Team JaJo comes third, behind Wind Whisperer and Mirpuri. A result with which the crew is not entirely satisfied. But they are happy to be there. Once moored, reporter Schuil climbs onto the quay and gives his girlfriend a big kiss. “It was great,” he says, “but now that I’m here, I really feel pfff.”