Sea, Sail & Surf news
Volvo Ocean Race
The new VO 70 “MoviStar” begins its first training sessions
Xabi Fernández : “We’re just starting to test the maneuverability of the boat"
mercredi 9 mars 2005 –
“This is just another step in our preparation for the 50.000 miles the MoviStar will cover during the Volvo Ocean Race’s competition and training” -notes Pedro Campos-. “Today marks the start of a new phase of activity -continues the general manager of the project- optimising all technical aspects before launching into training on the open sea en route from Australia to Spain”.
The countdown has now begun, ticking away at numerous tests designed principally to observe the sails configurations as well as the team members. “At this second stage of the project our objective is to make sure everything works smoothly and properly” - notes skipper Bouwe Bekking- ; “we’ll also start to engage the human side of the operation, putting each person at their post on the boat”.
Taking into account the Farr blueprints and the structural calculations of SP Systems, the Boatspeed shipyard has employed 2.500 kilos of carbon, using a technology similar to that used in the Airbus 380 new passanger airplane. “It’s a show of excelelent workmanship -notes team mate Pepe Ribes of Alicante, Spain - we’ve obtained a high degree of resiliency in a limited amount of weight”.
Australian born Andrew Cape -winner of the last America’s Cup America's Cup #AmericasCup - manages the electronic components of the boat and knows well the responsability involved in his area of activity : “We can not accept a single electronic error in the boat’s monitoring or in reception of information. The entire electronic system has undergone rigorous controls to ensure quality and safety”. Nearly 1.000 meters of cabling have been carefully set throughout the boat to handle essential information gathering and data transmission (including weather conditions, video, audio and photography).
Another of the race’s newcomers, Atenas 2004 Olympic Gold Medallist, Xabi Fernández from the Spanish region of Navarra, has started his involvement in the second phase of the project. “We’re just starting to test the maneuverability of the boat and as of yet have used 1.200 meters between the halyards, sheets and ropes”, cites Xabi’s Olympic team mate Iker Martínez, who will journey with him in the Volvo Ocean Race.
The last phase of the preparation- followed by another of six months after arriving in Galicia- will begin with the boat’s sail to Brazil, broken by a short 24 hour stop in Wellington (New Zealand). This segment will reproduce the exact route of the fouth and perhaps most difficult leg of the Volvo Ocean Race, travelling through Cape Horn, up the Eastern coast of South America and over to Río de Janeiro.
Voir en ligne : www.movistar.com/vela
Dans la même rubrique
Volvo Ocean Race : Pedro Campos : “We want to obtain the best results for Spanish sailing in the history of the Round the World Race”
Volvo Ocean Race : Rotterdam, Portsmouth and Gothenburg last ports of the Volvo Ocean Race ’05
Volvo Baltic Race : All guns blazing • Blixt wins Volvo Baltic Race
Volvo Ocean Race : Volvo Ocean Race launches design rule for record-beater
