Sea, Sail & Surf news
Volvo Ocean Race
HM King Juan Carlos I fired the starting gun in Vigo
Start of the round the world yacht and for 6,400 nautical miles race
samedi 12 novembre 2005 –
The final farewell was delivered in person by His Majesty King Juan Carlos I of Spain, who greeted the crews on the dockside above the new breed of Volvo Open 70’s that were about to become their homes for the next 20 days.
On the Vigo dockside there was still one boat missing ; the boat that was formerly known as ‘Premier Challenge’ and now as ‘Brunel Sunergy’ was still on her way to Vigo after clearing final measurement just yesterday. As the six teams made their way off the dock, Grant Wharington and his crew, which also saw final changes this morning, had just arrived at the start.
At 14 00 HM King Juan Carlos I fired the starting gun onboard the Swedish ship Göthenborg and finally the months of waiting were over. Ericsson and Pirates of the Caribbean shot off the start line under spinnaker and led the charge to the first mark. With the breeze light and shifty there was some clear differences in boat speed, and like the in-port race last weekend which took place in similar conditions, Ericsson proved speedy and was first to round, followed by Paul Cayard’s Pirates of the Caribbean and home favourites movistar skippered by Bouwe Bekking.
The course then took the teams back through the start line which provided a fantastic spectator opportunity, especially as the breeze picked up under a rain cloud to 17 knots. Again it was Neal McDonald and his team onboard Ericsson who were first through the gate followed by movistar, who had overtaken Pirates of the Caribbean on the close hauled reach through the start line. Third to go through was Pirates, followed by ABN AMRO ONE, Brasil 1, ABN AMRO TWO and finally Brunel Sunergy.
As the teams head out of the Ria de Vigo followed by a small army of hospitality boats, media boats and spectators, the order has not changed and Ericsson leads the charge to Cape Town followed by movistar, who has made up some ground on the leader, and then Pirates of the Caribbean.
The first 24 hours of the race is due to be a physical one as the forecast is likely to build and for the crew’s first night they could have 30 knots of wind. Already the wind has increased and there are 2-3 metre high waves which the boats are crashing through. There is much talk of 24 hour records being broken on the first Leg and only time will tell if this prediction is true.
Dans la même rubrique
Volvo Ocean Race : First win for British skipper Neal McDonald
Wakeboarding : Dan Nott towed by a Volvo 70 racing yacht
Volvo Ocean Race : McDonald : "One month to the start, the calm before the storm"
Photo : Aboard The Black Pearl with Paul Cayard
