Lorient to Genova. Three offshore legs. 2,000 nautical miles. Seven VO65s on the start line, most of them skippered by Volvo Ocean Race veterans with decades of offshore miles in their wake. And then there was Austrian Ocean Racing — the youngest crew in the fleet, with a boat called Sisi and a point to prove. Nobody expected them to win a leg. Nobody told them that.
This was the Ocean Race Europe - CEO Konstantin Kobale and Skipper Gerwin Jansen reflect on the first big race for this young team - and their first opportunity to prove that this team has what it takes to compete in the toughest sailing race in the world, The Ocean Race coming in 2022. Now a new race starts, a new chapter in our story: The way to our big race in 2022. We are looking forward to keep pushing and hope you follow along!
When Austrian Ocean Racing lined up for The Ocean Race Europe in May 2021, they were the youngest and least experienced team in the VO65 fleet. No Ocean Race pedigree. No multi-million-dollar campaign behind them. Just a boat called Sisi, a crew with something to prove, and a Dutch skipper named Gerwin Jansen who knew how to make boats go fast. The race: three offshore legs across 2,400 nautical miles — Lorient to Cascais, Cascais to Alicante, Alicante to Genova — plus two coastal sprints. The competition: teams led by Volvo Ocean Race veterans with decades of offshore miles in their wake. The Austrians were outsiders by every measure.
Four days of racing from Lorient to Cascais ended with four boats converging on the finish line within seconds of each other. Sisi crossed first — six seconds ahead of Ambersail-2. Six seconds after four days at sea. All seven VO65s finished within six minutes of each other. Gerwin's reaction on the dock said everything: "We are the newbies, the young team, not that much experience. The last 30 miles were so intense, it was unbelievable. We just kept on fighting and this was the result."
The logbook tells the rest of the story in bold entries: a Leg 1 win, then technical problems on Leg 2 — a missing A4 sail, a damaged sail — that dropped them to seventh. On Leg 3, tactical decisions that didn't pay off. The full spectrum of offshore racing, compressed into three weeks. But this is what the team came for. Not a trophy — a foundation. Every setback was a lesson: how to recover from equipment failure under pressure, how to make tactical calls with incomplete information, and how to carry a bad result into the next start without losing belief.
By the time Sisi crossed the line in Genova, something had shifted. Not just in the standings — fifth overall with ten points — but in the way the fleet looked at them. "The perception of us changed completely," said project CEO Konstantin Kobale. "We could see it in the reactions of the other crews — they started to accept us as serious competitors. The teams ahead of us all had years of experience, but we were within striking distance." Skipper Jansen put it more directly: "We are ready."
The Ocean Race Europe gave Austrian Ocean Racing what it needed most: proof — to the fleet, to future partners, and to themselves — that this team belonged. What followed was the RORC Transatlantic, the Rolex Middle Sea Race, and ultimately, The Ocean Race 2022–23 itself. But it started here. Lorient to Genova. 2,400 miles. And six seconds that made the sailing world pay attention.
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