02.01.2006
On course for Melbourne (Australia), in a Start with very light winds from Cape Town
The “movistar” starts out on the second leg of the Volvo Ocean Race as the leader
The second off shore leg of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-2006 set off
punctually at 13:00 hours today – Cape Town local time–, despite the lack
of wind in the first hours of the regatta. The fleet faces over 6,100 miles
to Melbourne, Australia, with two flying finishes: Kerguelen Island and
Eclipse Island.
The seven boats in the fleet set off one at a time from the V&A Waterfront
port at 10:30, heading for the starting line, taking up positions for the
start of this second leg at 13:00 h –local time–.
The race organisers informed the teams last week that, apart from two
flying finishes, both worth points, there would also be some way points to
prevent boats from dropping too far south to cut their voyage time to
Melbourne and risk running into icebergs. “This has a good side and a bad
side –remarked bowman Pepe Ribes before setting out–. On the one hand, one
of the most extreme areas of this Round the World will be less spectacular,
but, at the same time, it is the right decision from the safety point of
view”.
The “movistar” in the lead
The “movistar” opted for the Committee side at the starting line, and was
soon heading the fleet, in a desperate struggle with the Brasil 1 for the
little wind that was blowing in Cape Town’s table Bay today.
Scarcely 4 knots of wind in the first miles of the route were the reward
for this tactic, rather than pure speed, and the teams that read the
conditions in the bay best were the ones able to make most progress.
Bouwe Bekking, skipper of the “movistar”, was giving little away about the
conditions that awaited them in the first days of the race, before going
aboard: “conditions will be highly variable in the early hours, and our
tactics will consist a bit in staying with the fleet, at least until the
wind settles down. We will be beating south for a couple of days”.
“Beating is comfortable in light winds but really uncomfortable when it
gets over 20 knots –explains Xabi Fernandez–. They are ideal conditions for
getting sea sick and for getting wet on board, but from there on, we will
start to run and reach”.
Pedro Campos, “movistar” team manager, assesses the first miles: “Starting
the leg in first place is good news, but not especially significant on a
leg like this. We have only just started and the really tough part will
start in a few days time, when we run into the conditions of the Southern
Ocean. That is where we will see the differences. The objective is still to
run up as many points as possible”.
On going to press, four and a half hours after setting off from Cape Town,
the Spanish boat “movistar” still leads the fleet, followed by the “Brasil
1” and Swedish boat “Ericsson”, now sailing south with 30 knot winds, so a
tough night’s beating can be expected.
Ana Garcia
movistar Press Team
Office: +34-91-398 4738
E-mail: ana.garcia@ogilvy.com
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