La Taberna del Puerto

[Ocell (3NY)]

The crew of VO70 Telefonica Movistar recounts their crossing to New Zealand
"It was an eventful trip, characterised by rough conditions reminiscent of the famous Sydney-Hobart Race. We faced big waves and strong winds, but the boat rose to the challenge," recounted Bouwe Bekking, skipper of the first Farr Volvo Open 70 Telefonica Movistar, showed satisfaction upon arrival to Wellington (New Zealand) after carrying out the boat's first voyage on the open sea, during which she covered 1,450 nautical miles.

Since leaving Newcastle, Australia last week, the MoviStar Round the World Race team has had to cope with tough meteorological conditions, increasing the difficulty of the initial training stages and testing. "A finicky low pressure system approached differently than we'd hoped for, meaning that instead of sailing downwind we had to battle them head on for 30 hours straight," commented Iker Martínez, the team's offshore helmsman. "Tacking with these winds and waves is not so enjoyable, as we have to move all the gear from side to side for maximum performance".

"My view was that the route to Wellington was going to be relatively simple as the forecast was good," continues Bekking, "but immediately upon leaving the winds started to pick up, reaching 35 knots, and averaging out at 30 knots, as the front travelled faster than all the models showed. Anyway the first couple of hours were really fun, as the wind was coming from behind. Top boat speed so far 36 knots...

"For the team it was very satisfying to know that the boat and rig could handle this kind of conditions without any structural problems, as we have 'fallen' off some huge Tasmanian waves," continued Bekking. "We had a goal of testing the boat's resistance - but didn't expect we'd have to go through such a severe test so early in the game."

A positive team environment on board is another key aspect towards success in the Round the World Race. During the Volvo Ocean Race the crew spend a total of seven months on board their 70ft long home. Under such intense physical and mental pressure, the quest to maintain team chemistry is of paramount importance.
"I am very pleased with the atmosphere and chemistry of the team and especially of how they stood up to the hard and uncomfortable conditions in this first journey," states Bekking. "Even for us sailors it normally takes a day or two to come into a routine. The first night on board was especially trying, with a strong front passage and very confused seas".

"We also had to withstand the wet, both on deck and below," says Martinez. "Just what we wanted to prepare us for the competition that awaits us!"

Navigation from Australia to New Zealand is all open sea, on the same route to be sailed on the third leg of the Volvo Ocean Race in February 2006 and on Movistar's recent maiden voyage she also collided with a large fish. "We collided with something underwater doing over 20 knots of boat speed," says Bekking. "We think it was a big fish. We've had to double check the underside of the boat before continuing over to Rio de Janeiro".

"During the race we'll have a 48 hour pit stop in Wellington," continues trimmer Xabi Fernández. "While we planned only to stay here two hours, we've had to stay in port for a few days to change the water maker, which stopped working en route to Wellington. The Easter holidays didn't help us in that sense. We also lifted the boat out of water to check out any damage following the collision".

The team will take advantage of the stay in Wellington to check up all the systems and make an overall assesment of their first ocean journey. "Although we didn't find the best sailing conditions, we have been able to cover 470 nautical miles in 24 hours, showing good speed," notes Andrew Cape, navigator of MoviStar.

Pedro Campos adds that as general manager of the team and inshore helmsman, he is satisfied with the results of this passage as has been planned for months. "In June of last year we decided on carrying out a major training session for MoviStar en route to Rio, pushing it to its limits in the Tasman Sea and Southern Ocean, as well as in its voyage round Cape Horn. These training sessions will allow us valuable margins in manoeuvrability. Our strategy is working out perfectly: 1,500 nautical miles from setting out to sea, we have already tested the team and the boat under the most difficult conditions."

The next stage of training will take Movistar to Rio de Janeiro, rounding Cape Horn, a voyage totalling 6.700 miles.



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CLICKAR EN LOS ANUNTIOS DE BABOR!!!!!

[Open Chinijo]

Cachis en to¡¡¡¡
Mucha Volvo, salida desde España, Galicia concretamente, pero no se encuentra mucha informacion en Castellano.
Algun pirata se tira el rollo y traduce
Saludos

de ron, mejor si es de canarias

[Tomatasso]

Todavía hay mucho secretismo, por eso hay tan poca info.

Aunque es monopolio Farr, no todo se sabe unos de otros...

Salu2
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[Ricard]