Team JAJO finished second in in the final stage of The Ocean Race on Tuesday afternoon. With this second place, the Dutch-flagged team of skipper Jelmer van Beek secures the second place in the overall ranking of The Ocean Race Sprint Cup.

Skipper Jelmer van Beek: happy, relieved and proud

Van Beek: “We are very happy with the second place. As team we have always said: in Genoa it will come down to the last day. And that turned out to be the case. Fortunately, our decisions tonight were spot-on as was the boat handling. At the same time I am also relieved because you know that there is little wind here and it could have turned out differently this morning. Look at Trifork/Mirpuri, who have been battling with us for second for most of the race and could now easily finish fourth or fifth. As Team JAJO we can be proud of ourselves with this second place, we did very well. Not only in this last stage, but also in the previous two stages with a second and third place and a win at the In-Port Race at home in The Hague. Congratulations, of course, to the WindWhisper Racing Team who have shown to be of exceptional class in this race.”

Light weather conditions and killer whales characterise the last leg

The last of the three stages of The Ocean Race Sprint Cup was characterised by light weather conditions. As a result, the trip took no less than twelve days instead of the ten days expected. After just two days, at the exit of the French English channel, the WindWhisper Racing Team took the lead and never relinquished it. In the days that followed, the Polish team managed to increase its lead every single day. Behind the Poles, Team JAJO fought for a long time with the Trifork/Mirpuri Racing Team and later also Vivá Mexico for second place. After being held up for some time by Orcas last Thursday, just before the Strait of Gibraltar, Team JAJO was even briefly in fourth place.

On the last night, Team JAJO fought its way back from third position past Vivá Mexico to second place by opting for a route more along the coast.

Navigator Max Deckers: “It was a long, slow and at times quite intensive stage. It was very close, especially with Trifork/Mirpuri and Vivá Mexico. Yesterday we first had to make sure we got closer, because we were still a bit behind. We knew it would be light again tonight and then you know things can happen. Yesterday afternoon we already overtook Trifork/Mirpuri, so we went into the night in third. We deliberately chose to stay with the coast and staying with the rest of the fleet initially, trying to get past them at boat speed and handling, we were in a jibe duel with Vivá Mexico last night when we were on the right side of a cloud and they weren’t. We got a wind track there and were not only able to pass them, but also immediately built up a lead of a few miles. When the wind dropped again, we continued to sail the boat very well, so that we didn’t got into trouble anymore. But you keep looking back all the time, it can also turn out differently here. All in all, we are very happy with this second place, especially knowing that WindWhisper already had a considerable lead on day two, this was the best possible.

JAJO PROUD OF YOUNG AND DRIVEN TEAM

Ivo van der Mark, CEO JAJO: “I am extremely proud of the team. These young and driven people have shown what perseverance is. They deal flexibly with setbacks, out of the box, are driven and passionate and always think in terms of solutions. Of course everyone is talking about the orca attack at the moment, but let’s not forget that they came second in Cape Verde, third in The Hague and now second in Genoa. An incredibly great achievement on which everyone involved can be proud of!”