International sailing talents from Poland and Spain added to Dutch Team JAJO

22 december 2022

Left: Maja Micińska (POL) | Photo: Brend Schuil / Team JAJO
Right: Simbad Quiroga (ESP) / Photo: Brend Schuil / Team JAJO

Skipper Jelmer van Beek selected the first international talents for Team JAJO. He added Polish Maja Maja Micińska (21) and Simbad Quiroga (26) from Spain to the team of six Dutch sailors. Each team in the Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup counts ten crew. Van Beek still has two more spots to fill. The On Board Reporter joining Team JAJO in the race is Brend Schuil from The Netherlands.


International talents Micinska (POL) and Quiroga (ESP) in Alicante

Team JAJO is currently in Alicante to train for the In-Port Race on the 8th of January and the start of the first leg to Cabo Verde on the 15th of January. They are trialling different team set ups to find the best crew for the first leg of the Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup. Skipper Van Beek plans to finalise the selection process for his team before Christmas. Last week two international sailors under 30 were added to the young and talented Team JAJO. The Polish Maja Micińska (21) and Simbad Quiroga (26) from Spain.


Maja Micińska (POL) is only 21, but leaves a big impression
The Polish Maja Micińska is the youngest sailor in the team at the moment, but the way she acts on board is very mature and leaves a big impression. Skipper van Beek states: "She really takes responsibility, she's very structured in her work and she's an amazing trimmer." In The Ocean Race Europe Micińska was part of the Sailing Poland crew, skippered by the Dutch around the world sailor Bouwe Bekking. 

"For me it's a dream coming true," Maja reacts on being selected for Team JAJO. "It's always hard to describe and it's so different for all of us, but I'm just really excited! I just started the last year of my study when Jelmer messaged me. So I completely changed my course and hopped on a plane."


Left: Maja Micińska (POL) | photo: Brend Schuil / Team JAJO
Right: Simbad Quiroga (ESP) / photo: Brend Schuil / Team JAJO

Simbad Quiroga (ESP) has an impressive track record in sailing
Raised on the Canary Islands as the son of a Whitbread Round the World sailor, for Simbad sailing plays an important role in his life since his childhood. His biggest dream is to follow in his dad's footsteps and sail around the world. His dad also taught him the importance of constantly improving athletic performance and mental resilience. 

Van Beek about the new asset to the team: "The first time I crossed the Atlantic with Simbad was in 2019. I'm super happy we have him on board. He has a good feel for the boat and works really hard. He always finds stuff to do. His track record in sailing at his age is really impressive, he already crossed the Atlantic 11 times."


Selected sailors Team JAJO

1. Jelmer van Beek – NED – skipper
2. Max Deckers – NED – navigator
3. Bouwe Bekking – NED – watch leader
4. Rutger Vos – NED – boat captain
5. Laura Van Veen – NED – medic
6. Jorden van Rooijen – NED - bowman
7. Maja Micińska – POL – trim
8. Simbad Quiroga – ESP – trim/helmsman

Photo: On Board Reporter Brend Schuil during the Transat 2021 / Team JAJO

Brend Schuil from The Netherlands as On Board Reporter 

The On Board Reporter joining Team JAJO for the race is Brend Schuil from The Netherlands. Schuil was five years old when he started sailing on the Frisian lakes in the Northern part of The Netherlands. He is now 31 and never stopped sailing. He runs a video production company and works on projects in sports and events. Schuil was also involved as OBR in The Ocean Race Europe.


Van Beek is happy about having Schuil on board as OBR: "Brend is a brilliant cameraman and always full of creative ideas. One of the most important things to me as a skipper is an OBR who really adds something to the team. Brend comes up with light-hearted comments and also knows when to step back and let the team get on with sailing."

VIDEO: RECAP LEG 7

5 juli 2023
Leg 7, what a ride it was! Let’s look back at this challenging Leg. Difficult wind conditions, Orca’s hugging our boat and much more. Take an in-depth look into our final race!

TEAM JAJO WINS FINAL IN-PORT RACE THE OCEAN RACE

1 juli 2023
Team JAJO wins the final In-Port Race of the Ocean Race on Saturday afternoon. In Genova, the Dutch team of skipper Jelmer van Beek wins for the second time this edition an In-Port Race. In light weather conditions, Team JAJO dominates from start to finish, just like they did in The Hague. 

TEAM JAJO WINT IN GENUA DE AFSLUITENDE HAVENRACE VAN THE OCEAN RACE

1 juli 2023
Team JAJO weet zaterdagmiddag de afsluitende In-Port Race van de Ocean Race te winnen. In Genua wint het Nederlandse team van schipper Jelmer van Beek voor de tweede keer deze editie een havenrace. In licht weersomstandigheden domineert Team JAJO, net als in Den Haag, van start tot finish.

Sailor quotes after Leg 7

30 juni 2023
Some soundbites from the sailors after Stage 3 of The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint. Team JAJO crossed the finishing line in second place and secured the second place on the overall leaderboard.

Team JAJO second in Leg 7 and second overall in The Ocean Race Sprint Cup

27 juni 2023
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.”

TEAM JAJO ALS TWEEDE IN GENUA EN PAKT TWEEDE PLAATS IN THE OCEAN RACE

27 juni 2023
Team JAJO finishte dinsdagmiddag in de laatste etappe van The Ocean Race als tweede in de VO65 klasse. Met deze tweede plek verzekert het Nederlandse team van schipper Jelmer van Beek zich van de tweede plaats in het eindklassement van The Ocean Race Sprint Cup achter het Poolse Team WindWhisper, dat alle drie de etappes won. De laatste etappe bracht de vloot van Den Haag in twaalf dagen naar het Italiaanse Genua.

Orcas and finally a wet boat

25 juni 2023
SATURDAY JUNE 24 - 2000 UTC Hello, The last 48 hours have been pretty eventful. To start with our Orca encounter, just before the street of Gibraltar. I think most of you have seen the video's from our OBR Brend Schuil. Impressive to see those wonderful animals so close to the boat. A lot of (media) people asked me; have you been scared when they were hitting the rudders? Well the VO65 is a pretty safe boat, I have a good crew and we were close by land. Also, the other teams offered assistance straight away when we informed them on the radio to watch out for the orcas. So I never felt not safe. I actually realized how much I love this race and sailing with this team. However, when the orcas came back for the third time I knew we all have seen footage from boats that lost their rudders and in that case, we would maybe have retired from the race. Not finishing in the final leg would have been a real disappointment. Luckily the orcas left again. The damage is minor (as far as we know now) and we are racing again. I hope we can find a way how these beautiful animals and we sailors can live happily together out at sea like before this all started three years ago. And that this incident will become a nice story to tell to my future children :) Back to sailing: first of all, we enjoyed the conditions in the MED. We had some powerful upwinds and at the moment we are planning downwind with the big kite up. The boat got a nice saltwater shower. Today our navigator, Max Deckers, and I decided to go for a little split. We saw an opportunity close to Alicante and we made a 40nm split. Unfortunately, it did not work out and we are for now in 4th place. So we are on the hunt! 500 nm left to the finish in Genova. Cheers, Jelmer

Orca encounter Team JAJO: “This was a scary moment”

22 juni 2023
Team JAJO had direct encounters with orcas - killer whales - in the Atlantic Ocean to the west of Gibraltar on Thursday afternoon. At that moment, the Dutch participant in The Ocean Race was second in the stage from The Hague to Genoa. After 15 minutes the incident was over, the orcas, the crew and the boat remained unharmed.

TEAM JAJO VOOR STRAAT VAN GIBRALTAR IN AANRAKING MET ORKA’S

22 juni 2023
Donderdag aan het einde van de middag heeft de VO65 van Team JAJO vlak voor de Straat van Gibraltar bezoek gehad van een drietal orka’s. De Nederlandse deelnemer aan The Ocean Race lag op dat moment tweede in de etappe van Den Haag naar Genua. Na 15 minuten was het incident voorbij, zowel de orka's, de bemanning als de boot zijn ongedeerd gebleven.

What is the distance, where are they now?

21 juni 2023
Wednesday June 21st - 1815 UTC For 2 days we are in a battle with Mirpuri / Trifork Racing Team. Every time a new watch comes on deck the first thing they do is ask where our nearest rivals are. What's the distance? For the last 2 days, we always have had them in sight. For example last night we tried a little different route. A full night of hard work got us from a few miles behind to a few miles in front. However with Lisbon in sight in the early morning, we sailed into a little hole of no wind at 'Cabo Raso' and they overtook us again. This game never stops. It also is what Ocean Racing on the V65 makes interesting. We both have the same boat, the same sails. Everything is about what we do; the human race. The race to Genova is still a long race. I spoke with the other skippers before the race and nobody will be surprised if the race will be decided on the last night in front of the Italian coast. However WindWhisper Racing Team sailed really well till now and they have a decent lead. We have a little bit of separation on Viva Mexico and the Austrian Ocean Racing powered by Genova. Where are they know? At 1800 UTC we are 4 miles in front of Mirpuri / Trifork Racing Team and in 2nd place. But a lot of racing to go! Regards, Jelmer
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