By Ann Daly.
Team Brunel won the last “long leg” of the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) crossing the Atlantic Ocean from Newport, Rhode Island to Lisbon, a distance of some 2,800 nautical miles, in a tight finish on May 27 following an exhausting ten days at sea. The “Organizing Comité” for the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race Festival The Hague (June 18, 19 and 20) might even be tempted to conclude that the warm wishes of the “home team” celebrating Team Brunels’s departure from Newport on a “big screen” at the official accommodation sponsor for the event, the Worldhotel Bel Air, put enough extra wind in the boat’s sails to put the Dutch team first across the finish line after having left the comforts of land precisely 9 days, 11 hours, 9 minutes and 49 seconds earlier.
The Sunday afternoon, May 17, “Departure Celebration” at the Worldhotel Bel Air was made possible by the generous support of American Chamber of Commerce and the Volvo Ocean Race Festival The Hague.
For a photo-album on this exciting event, please click here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/sets/72157652061883924
Karin Hazelhoff Roelfzema was among the special guests who watched Team Brunel’s departure from Newport.
The name Hazelhoff Roelzema, may not be well known by some of the international community in The Hague, but, for the Dutch, it is a widely recognized and highly honored name. Her husband, Erik Hazelhoff Roelzema (1910-2007) wrote the book “Soldaat van Oranje” (Soldier of Orange) over his experiences as a member of the Dutch resistance during World War II and his story later inspired a film. Currently, a musical adaptation, by the same name, is being performed in a unique theater near Wassenaar.
Stephen van der Meulen, the hotel’s General Manager, welcomed the invited guests to enjoy a traditional “American” summer picnic menu, described as a “Walking Captain’s Dinner.” A local “American” cheerleading gymnastics squad entertained the guests by performing a Volvo Ocean Race cheer, which had been specially written for the occasion.
Klaas Wiersma, of Klaas Wiersma Media, a sailor and professional water-sports photographer, spoke briefly about what the teams could expect during the trans-Atlantic race to Lisbon and Team Brunel’s race to The Hague. Wiersma’s photography is regularly featured in a number of Dutch water-sports publications such as “Zeilen” and “WaterKampioen.”
Team Brunel’s “On Board” reporter Mark Antony Taminiau, of August & Louis, reported on the crew’s life aboard the ocean racer and some of the dangers, which could be encountered during Leg 7 to Lisbon.
Simone Keijzer, the Marketing and Communications Manager for the Volvo Ocean Race Festival Den Haag, presented the three-day festival program to the group gathered for the occasion. The complete festival program can be viewed here. The festival programs will be held in four areas: the race village, the beach, the harbor are the concert grounds. Day programs will be open to the public. Entrance tickets for the evening concerts can be purchased electronically via the festival website. Use the registration form on the festival’s website or contact a member of the Organizing Comité for information on the various V.I.P. programs which are still available for both individuals and groups.
The biggest water-sports celebrations ever held in The Hague will open in less than two weeks and the Volvo Ocean Race “Pit Stop” and Festival are certain to put The Hague on the map in the world of international water-sports. Be sure to join the city in welcoming all seven teams and, especially, Team Brunel, briefly home to The Hague before embarking on the final run to the race’s finish in Gothenburg.
