Dongfeng
Race Team in the Volvo Ocean Race has brought together men and women
from six nations speaking four languages in its quest for glory in the
world’s longest sporting competition.
At its heart is a young man from Shenzhen near Hong Kong who has
transformed his abilities on the boat over the last four years and
become a key member of the race crew, completing a remarkable personal
journey.
Chen Jinhao, also known to his fans all over the world as Horace, is a
big man and a powerful athlete with strong features who commands respect
and expects others to commit to their goals in the same passionate way
that he does.
Right now he is less than 2,000 nautical miles from home as Dongfeng
continues what is now a fast passage towards Hong Kong where his friends
and family will be waiting on the dockside to greet him.
Also ready to welcome the boat with the double swallow motif on its
sails of Dongfeng Motor Corporation will be children from the sailing
school that Horace has set up in Shenzen. They will be there to support
Dongfeng during the In-Port Race in Hong Kong on January 27.
Unlike
some of the Chinese sailors racing with Dongfeng Race Team, Horace came
to the project before the last Volvo Ocean Race with a long history of
sailing.
To begin with he grew up by the sea and has always loved the idea of
getting out on a boat. In his youth he was a promising windsurfer but
his lucky break came in 2011 when he was spotted by the Hong Kong-based
yachtsman Frank Pong. The young Horace crewed on Pong’s 77ft yacht Jelik and went on to race in the America’s Cup World Series and the Extreme Sailing Series.
So Horace knew his way around a boat when he joined Dongfeng Race Team
and he was selected for six of the nine legs in the last Volvo Ocean
Race but his progress since then has been remarkable.
Nowadays, still at the tender age of 26 and sailing as bowman – one of
the most difficult and high-pressure jobs on a Volvo Ocean 65 – Horace’s
name is one of the first on the team sheet for the crew sponsored by
Dongfeng Motor Corporation which also includes Chinese sailors Yang Jiru
(Wolf) and Xue Liu (Black), and is led by Charles Caudrelier.
The French yachtsman has high hopes for Horace describing him as the “best rookie” in the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15. “His improvement, energy and motivation is huge. Horace could be the first Chinese skipper in the Volvo Ocean Race,” said Caudrelier.
During
a rare moment out of the cockpit on this testing Leg 4 from Melbourne
to Hong Kong, Horace reflected on his remarkable journey with Dongfeng
Race Team as the coast of mainland China draws ever closer.
“The last race was the first time that we had participated in the Volvo Ocean Race,” he said, when asked to compare his memories from 2015-15 with the current race. “I
remember I was very curious and excited when we got to the race start
three years ago. But this time I was much calmer because I knew what was
coming. I always say to myself ‘I am still here to learn’ and I always
try to keep calm and modest.”
Horace believes the Dongfeng team has benefitted from getting started
earlier on its training and preparation than some of its rivals. “Even
though new shore crew and sailors have joined the team, we have had
more time to get to know each other and to live and work together,” he said. “We have been able to build up close relationships and learn how to communicate with each other.”
One sailor in Caudrelier’s crew that Horace has bonded with – perhaps
more than most – is the 46-year-old French Vendee Globe veteran, Jérémie
Beyou, who has become something of a mentor to the young Chinese
sailor. In fact Horace has already decided that after the Volvo Ocean
Race he would like to follow Beyou and enter the Vendee Globe himself.“Jérémie is a very good sailor and we have spent quite a lot of time together and we usually roomed together during training,” said Horace.
“I think we have similar personalities; both of us don’t like to
talk too much but we both love to think and take responsibility for what
we are doing. We both work really hard to achieve our dream – maybe
that’s why we work so well together.”
Horace has been learning as much as he can from Beyou, who finished
third in the last Vendee Globe and has won the prestigious Solitaire du
Figaro championship three times.
"Jérémie completed the Vendee, which is the race that I really want to take part in, and of course the Figaro as well,” he said. “That’s
why I always try to learn as much as possible from him. He is a really
kind person and he is happy to share his knowledge and skills with me
and has taught me how to prepare for the Vendee. For me, he is my
teacher for the Vendee Globe.”
Aside
from trying to win the Volvo Ocean Race, Horace’s other great passion
in life is sharing his enthusiasm and skill as a sailor with new
generations of Chinese youngsters. Dongfeng Race Team has always been
committed to helping the sport grow in China and Horace is leading the
way, helping to encourage young Chinese sailors to take up the challenge
of sailing and racing offshore.
Not content to merely pay lip service to the team’s mission in this area, Horace opened his sailing school straight after the last race. “I am keen to educate the younger sailors,” he said. “And that’s why I opened up the sailing school in Shenzhen.
“Sailing is not only about having fun, it is also about teaching the children to think in a logical way,” he added. “I believe sailing is one of the ways to show children the value of the old saying ‘think twice before you take action'. I am sure sailing will be a lesson for life for them.”
CHEN JINHAO - HORACE ROLE: Bowman
NATIONALITY: Chinese
BORN: February 15, 1992
PLACE OF BIRTH: Guang Dong, China
LIVES: Shenzhen, China
SAILING HIGHLIGHTS:
2011: Sailor on 75ft racing boat, Team Jelik
2013: 34th America’s Cup with Team China
2013: Part of China Team in Extreme Sailing Series, Qingdao
2014-15: 3rd place, Dongfeng Race Team, Volvo Ocean Race
2016: Founder of Unione Club to promote education and training in sailing in China
2017-18: Volvo Ocean Race with Dongfeng Race Team
Not content to merely pay lip service to the team’s mission in this area, Horace opened his sailing school straight after the last race. “I am keen to educate the younger sailors,” he said. “And that’s why I opened up the sailing school in Shenzhen.
“Sailing is not only about having fun, it is also about teaching the children to think in a logical way,” he added. “I believe sailing is one of the ways to show children the value of the old saying ‘think twice before you take action'. I am sure sailing will be a lesson for life for them.”
CHEN JINHAO - HORACE ROLE: Bowman
NATIONALITY: Chinese
BORN: February 15, 1992
PLACE OF BIRTH: Guang Dong, China
LIVES: Shenzhen, China
SAILING HIGHLIGHTS:
2011: Sailor on 75ft racing boat, Team Jelik
2013: 34th America’s Cup with Team China
2013: Part of China Team in Extreme Sailing Series, Qingdao
2014-15: 3rd place, Dongfeng Race Team, Volvo Ocean Race
2016: Founder of Unione Club to promote education and training in sailing in China
2017-18: Volvo Ocean Race with Dongfeng Race Team
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