The 42-year-old Frenchman is delighted to be representing China again: “For sure I am very happy because I have learnt about China and its people and I really enjoy working with them,” he said. “I am very happy to see Dongfeng coming back. It is great for us to see a sponsor returning who feels happy about sailing and is happy to get involved again.
“With this announcement the team is in the ‘starting blocks’ early and that will give us an advantage to find the best crew and to train as much as possible. But this is not an easy task – the next edition of the race is the longest and hardest yet with three times as much Southern Ocean racing to do.
“In the last race the Chinese sailors, who had almost no offshore sailing experience, joined the squad and performed beyond expectations alongside our professional international crew. Together we showed what we could do, how we could overcome adversity and be an even stronger, united team at the end.”
This second Dongfeng Race Team project follows Team Sanya (2011-12) and Green Dragon (2008-09) as the Volvo Ocean Race’s fourth Chinese entry. Green Dragon was a joint-entry with Ireland.
“It’s fantastic news to have Dongfeng come back as a sponsor for a second consecutive edition – and fantastic news for sailing in China, to be able to build on the legacy that the first Dongfeng Race Team project created,” said Volvo Ocean Race CEO Mark Turner, who, before taking the reins of the event in June 2016, oversaw the Dongfeng Race Team project.
“It’s really pleasing to see a Chinese sponsor which was new to sports sponsorship, coming back a second time based on the strength of the success of the first campaign, both on the media side and the Business to Business side. It’s a very big vote of confidence in the race, not just for other Chinese brands, but for many companies around the world who are looking for a platform to help them transform their business, internally or externally or both.
He continued: “Charles Caudrelier over-delivered in the last edition with a crew that on paper were less experienced than some of the other teams. It’s great that he is coming back as skipper. I think he will use the experience of the last race to build a great team.”
The seven One Design Volvo Ocean 65s from last edition are currently undergoing a stringent re-fit procedure at the Race’s Boatyard facility in Lisbon, Portugal – and an identical eighth boat is also currently built by Persico Marine in Bergamo, Italy.
It has previously been announced that the next race will feature two Southeast Asian stops, Hong Kong and Guangzhou. It will be the fourth consecutive edition that the Race has stopped in China.
In total, the Race will visit 11 cities in five continents, starting in Alicante and taking in Lisbon, Cape Town, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Auckland, Itajaí, Newport, Cardiff and Gothenburg before the finish in The Hague.