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TELEFÓNICA
MOVISTAR: (Spain) will take part in
the race by entering a team from
Galicia. Telefónica MoviStar,
the leading Spanish telecoms company,
is the major sponsor of the syndicate,
with additional funding coming from
other companies. Telefónica
MoviStar has been supporting former
America's Cup skipper Pedro Campos
with his IMS race boat campaigns for
several seasons.
Chronicle
of a maiden voyage: the
MoviStar’s first 1.450 miles
The
winds started to pick up immediately after leaving,
building up to over 35 knots”
–Bouwe Bekking–.
TELEFONICA
MOVISTAR'S - maiden voyage
Wellington
(New Zealand). March 31, 2005
“It was an
eventful trip, characterized by rough conditions
reminiscent of the famous Sydney-Hobart Race.
We faced big waves and strong winds, but the boat
rose to the challenge”. Bouwe Bekking – skipper of the MoviStar– showed satisfaction upon
arrival to Wellington (New Zealand) after carrying out
the boat’s first voyage on the open sea, covering
1.450 nautical miles aboard the new VO 70 MoviStar.
Since leaving the port of
Newcastle (Australia) last week, the MoviStar Round the
World Race team has come up against a tough
meteorological agenda, 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”, comments 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 Australia 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 boatspeed so far 36
knots!”
“For the
team it was very satisfying to know that the boat and
rig could handle these kinds of conditions without any
structural problems, as we have “fallen” off some
famously huge Tasmanian waves”,
continued the team’s skipper. “We
had a goal of testing the boat’s resistance – but
didn’t expect we’d have to go through such a severe
exam so early in the game.”
Harmony
onboard
A positive team environment
on board is another key aspect towards success in the
Round the World Race. Starting with the departure from
Galicia on November 12, 2005, and finishing with the
arrival in Gothenburg (Sweden) on June 17, 2006, the
crew will have spent a total of seven months on board
their 70 foot long home. Under such intense physical and
mental pressure, the quest to maintain team chemistry is
key.
“I am very
pleased with the atmosphere and chemistry of the team,
and especially of how they withstood the hard and
uncomfortable conditions in this first journey”,
notes Bouwe 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 frontpassage and very confused seas”.
“We
also had to withstand the wet, both on deck and below”
-says
Iker- “Just what
we wanted to prepare us for the competition that awaits
us!”
Underwater
collision at 20 knots
Navigation from Australia
to New Zealand is all open sea, the same route to be
carried out in the third leg of the Volvo Ocean Race
2005-2006 in February 2006. Hitting a big fish is just
one of the risks encountered in travelling through such
waters – an undesired occurrence which took place
during the Sydney-Hobart Race and in the MoviStar’s
maiden ocean voyage.
“We
collided with something underwater doing over 20 knots
of boat speed” -notes Bouwe 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 –notes
Xabi Fernández, trimmer–, and
while we planned only to stay here 2 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 the effects of
the underwater collision”.
The team will take
advantage of the stay in Wellington to review all the
systems and make an overall account 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 the MoviStar.
Pedro
Campos adds that as general manager of the team and
inshore helmsman, he is satisfied with the results of
the strategy as planned out months back.
“In June
of last year we decided on carrying out a major training
session for the MoviStar en route to Rio, pushing it to
its limits in the Tasmanian and Southern Pacific oceans,
as well as in its voyage through the mystical Cape Horn.
These training sessions will allow us valuable margins
in manoeuvrability.
The 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” concludes Campos.
The
next stage of training will take them to Rio de Janeiro,
travelling through Cape Horn, a voyage totalling 6.700
miles.
The
2001/02 Volvo Ocean Race was won by the “Illbruck
Challenge” German team, with John Kostecki as a
skipper, followed by the Swedish “Assa Abloy” boat,
skipper Neal McDonald, and the Italian-Finnish “Amer
Sports”, with Grant Dalton as skipper. The boats
covered a total distance of 58,523 kilometres (31,600
nautical miles).
Bassat
Ogilvy – Enrique Larreta, 2 – 28036 Madrid
Telf:
(+34) 913984717 / Movil: (+34) 609418927 / Fax (+34)
913984727
melendy.britt@ogilvy.com
Varadero
Comunicación - Mª Auxiliadora, 4 - 36202 Vigo (Spain)
Telf.:
(+34) 986441001 / Móvil: (+34) 609800218 / Fax: (+34)
986441830
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TELEFONICA MOVISTAR 
