10.11.2007
Estrella Damm
* Visit Barcelona Round the World site'> http://www.barcelonaworldrace.com/en/
* Visit Official Estrella Damm site'> http://www.estrelladamm.es/idiomas/idiomas.asp
GUILLERMO ALTADILL AND JONATHAN MCKEE READY FOR THE START OF THE BARCELONA WORLD RACE
Just 24 hours to go to the Barcelona World Race, Estrella Damm skippers Guillermo Altadill and Jonathan McKee are ready to face sailing round the world, non-stop. At 13:00 hours (local time) the two sailors will embark on what will be their first and possibly greatest adventure as a team. Starting from Barcelona's Port Olympic, the two skippers will bid farewell to their families, their fans and their city as they attempt to sail 25,000 miles around the world, through some of the world's most hostile oceans, expecting to return home after around 80 days of grueling competition.
Weather forecasts predict light winds for the start, with these conditions expected to continue through to Monday. Winds are expected to be shift between the Northwest and the Southwest, putting the skippers to the test as they head towards the Strait of Gibraltar, hoping to stay in top position.
Guillermo and Jonathan are now fully geared up for the start and while they harbour some pre-race nerves both are looking forward to seeing the start-line.
"I have no doubt about the boat," Guillermo confirmed, "I think this is a fast boat and that it's not going to give us too many problems. I'm now able to turn my thoughts away from making sure the boat is ready and am now fully concentrating on the race ahead."
In addition to the start, Guillermo, a native of Barcelona, is looking forward to sailing out in front of him home crowd. "To see and feel the support from the crowd at the start will be very emotional. For almost three months we are going to be virtually isolated from the world and from normal life so we will keep the memories of our departure in our minds during the race. I can only hope that we finish the race in good time and I look forward to returning to Barcelona."
Jonathan McKee is eager to get to the start-line. "With little time now left to the start I'm starting to feel like this is not an exercise any more, it's the here and now and it's all starting to hit home. I do think about the race and I get a bit nervous when the reality of what I'm about to do sinks in. Having said that, my attitude hasn't changed. I'm really excited about the race and I'm ready to get on with it and do it. I want to stop thinking about it and stop preparing for it and actually just go out and start sailing. You have a certain vision of what it's going to be like, both good and bad so it will be great to stop thinking about what might happen and just get into the thick of it."
While Guillermo and Jonathan hope to finish in a good overall position, both skippers agree on their index objectives for the Barcelona World Race. "For, us the first objective is to finish the race, just to sail safely around the world which is an incredible achievement in itself. No matter what the results of the race, it's going to be a great challenge to get the boat around the world safely."
While the two skippers have only known each other for a short time (they were introduced just over three months ago), they clearly share a deep respect for each other, both as a person and as a sporting talent. While the skippers have two very different characters, Guillermo is more explosive and bold, while Jonathan is cool, calm and collected, they seem to have struck up a companionship that confirms opposites do indeed attract. "I think we are perfectly complementary," Guillermo explains, "both technically and in our personalities. Every day I am more and more convinced that Jonathan is the best person I could have picked to sail around the world with me."
Jonathan sums it: "Yes, we have different personalities, we come from different cultures, we have different strengths and different ways to approach problems but on the other hand we get on really well and we have very complimentary skills. On the boat we feel quite comfortable sailing together. We have a lot of trust in each other, we don't have a lot of disagreements about how to do things and we have a pretty similar approach to how to we go about sailing the boat and racing a race. I'm sure there are going to be hard times along the way and that will be the real test of how well we can hold together. In the end we succeed or fail as a team so there's not point in casting blame, all you can do is get on with it."
For further information about the Estrella Damm Sailing Team, please contact:
Natalia Kim (Spanish)
Myrrh Walker (English)
Telephone: +44 (0) 870 063 0210
http://www.damm.es http://www.mail2web.com/cgi-bin/redir.asp?lid=0&newsite=http://www.damm.es
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