Team JAJO is complete to start The Ocean Race

28 december 2022

Left: Gregg Parker (GBR) / photo: Brend Schuil / Team JAJO
Right: Joy Fitzgerald (GBR) / photo: Brend Schuil / Team JAJO

Team JAJO is complete and looking forward to race in the Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup starting on the 15th of January 2023. Two weeks after adding Bouwe Bekking as watch leader to his team of five young Dutch sailors, skipper Jelmer van Beek completed the crew with four international talents.

Just before Christmas Joy Fitzgerald from Scotland and Gregg Parker from England were the last two sailors to receive a call confirming their spots on the boat. Watch leader Bouwe Bekking is the only one on board with experience in The Ocean Race. The other crew members will be competing in the race for the first time. 

Joy Fitzgerald from Scotland is the third female crew member

Joy Fitzgerald (33) was born in Glasgow and lives in Kilcreggan (Scotland) when she's not busy sailing. She's the third female crew member Jelmer added to the team. Van Beek: "We got in touch with Joy through Bouwe Bekking, they sailed together on J Class sailing yacht Svea. She brings a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm, both as a sports physiotherapist and as a sailor. She's very versatile and of great value to the team."

Left: Joy Fitzgerald (GBR)) / photo: Brend Schuil / Team JAJO
Right: Gregg Parker (GBR) / photo: Brend Schuil / Team JAJO

Gregg Parker (38) from England brings the extra strength we were looking for

Van Beek is happy to have Gregg Parker on board: "Gregg lives in Alicante and trained with us because we needed an extra pair of hands. We found out he could actually be our missing link so I added him to our selection process. He's a very experienced sailor and super versatile. He can help out on the foredeck, in the pit, and he's a very good grinder. He is superfit and brings us the extra strength we were looking for."

Van Beek: "This is the icing on the cake after four years of hard work"
Skipper Jelmer van Beek calls himself very lucky to be able to count on the Dutch sailors Max Deckers, Rutger Vos, Laura van Veen and Jorden van Rooijen. These sailors already sailed many miles on the boat together over the past three years. "Without this solid base I would have never been able to get this amazing crew together on such short notice. The race really is the icing on the cake after years of hard work," Jelmer states.

Watch leader Bouwe Bekking brings valuable Ocean Race experience to the team
For everyone in the team, except for around the world sailor Bouwe Bekking, it's the first time to compete in The Ocean Race. "The Ocean Race experience Bouwe adds to the team is very important to us. We are a young crew, seven of us are under 30, but we all have sailed a lot of miles to get this far. I really hope that we will have a great time on board, and an unforgettable experience with this amazing team. After spending two weeks with the team the feeling is good and everyone is looking forward to the challenge." 


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

9. Joy Fitzegarld - GBR - allround
10. Gregg Parker - GBR - grinder

The calm before the storm and the start of The Ocean Race on 15 January

All sailors are home for the holidays before everyone heads off to Alicante in the first week of the new year. From January 4th the entire team will be present and prepare for the in-port race on the 8th, a practice race on the 10th and the start of The Ocean Race on the 15th of January. The first leg is a 1,900 nautical mile sprint from Alicante to Cabo Verde, the first time the Race will visit the African archipelago.

Historically, the fleet has sailed past these islands as they head south down the Atlantic. Whilst in Cabo Verde, The Ocean Race will take part in its famed Ocean Week, with a focus on local and international sustainability issues.

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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