Telefónica backs Spanish Team in Volvo Ocean Race

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At a press conference in Madrid today, it was confirmed that Spain'stwo-boat assault on the Volvo Ocean Race will be backed by TelefÛnica, theSpanish telecommunications giant and parent company of movistar. Thecampaign is also supported by a raft of additional sponsors and is backed bythe Valencian government and the Spanish Sailing Federation.

The campaign will again be spearheaded by Pedro Campos as CEO, while BouweBekking, skipper of the Spanish entry movistar in the previous race, returnsas Sports and Technical Director. Spanish Olympians, Iker MartÌnez andFernando Ech·varri among the principal members of the sailing team, whichwill be based in the start port of Alicante.

Both boats, designed under an exclusive deal with Farr Yacht Design, will bedifferentiated by hull colour and named TelefÛnica Blue and TelefÛnicaBlack. Read more...

Puma ready to rock

Photos by StayinStrewn
Puma Ocean Racing - rig and ready for sea trails off Newport Rhode Island. First race Newport Bermuda.

The Green Team’s Volvo Open 70

Guy Nowell/Green Team

The Green Team’s Volvo Open 70 has emerged from McConaghy Boats in Zhuhai, China and is being prepared for shipping to the UK.

To mark the occasion, the team held a “Thank You China Event” near the build site located 60 miles north of Hong Kong.

Construction started in October and has been completed on schedule, with the boat due to depart on 8th May.

The mainly Australian-led team at McConaghy’s has been working alongside American designers Reichel/Pugh and a 90-strong Chinese build team. 40,000 man hours have gone into the build.
Green Team CEO Jamie Boag said: “It is fantastic to see the boat completed. As we were late in the production of this boat it was crucial that it would be completed on time, something we were confident McConaghy Boats could deliver.

“China is an amazing place. If you want something manufactured or sourced, it can be done really quickly to a very high standard.”

With the build now complete the team will prepare the boat to be shipped back to Europe, with an anticipated arrival in the UK of early June. Read more...

Going Green

A syndicate with environmental issues at the heart of their campaign has emerged as a potential eighth entry for the 2008-09 race.

Known as Carbon Challenge, the objective of the campaign is to raise awareness of the harmful effects of global warming as the team travels the globe by significantly reducing their carbon footprint.

The team plans to campaign with Pirates of the Caribbean, the first generation Volvo Open 70, which finished second overall in the 2005-06 race.

“It's a cool idea for Carbon Challenge to get on board a pre-campaigned boat,” Weaver said.
“We will have already saved an incredible amount of energy compared to a team that builds a new boat. In theory at least, we don't have to sacrifice a lot of performance versus the other teams as my research indicates that we can be reasonably competitive, investing our personal energy in making the boat fast.

“In the short term we need to inspect the boat and determine a timetable for a re-fit with design engineers and boatbuilders, we will then look at a new complete sail inventory, I have an outlet to recycle the old ones.

“Then when we push the button we can get the sailing team on the water early so by race time they will be up for the challenge.

“Using a pre-campaigned boat, our crew will have a harder job keeping up with the rest of the field. But that is part of the challenge – to outperform expectations by being carbon conscious.”

Ericsson 3 Launched: Volvo Ocean Race

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Photos OnEdition

Ericsson launch the first of their two challengers for the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race under the night sky at the World Trade Centre Plaza in Barcelona. The second generation Volvo Open 70, named Ericsson 3 and designed by Argentina’s Juan Kouyoumdjian, was officially christened before an audience of 1,500 guests.

Skippers Torben Grael, Anders Lewander and crew members from both boats were in attendance. The official launch was performed by Gordana Kovacevic, President of Ericsson Croatia, who cracked a bottle of champagne over the boat in the traditional way. The centre piece of a dazzling audio visual show was a giant inflatable orb suspended high above the plaza which carried dramatic footage from the 2005-06 event and an illuminated route map for the next race. The christening was timed to coincide with the Mobile World Congress, the world’s largest telecommunications trade show, also taking place in Barcelona this week.

The 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race will be the 10th running of this ocean marathon. Starting from Alicante in Spain on 4 October 2008, it will for the first time, take in ports in Asia. Spanning some 39,000 nautical miles, stopping at around 11 ports and taking nine months to complete, the Volvo Ocean Race is the world’s premier yacht race for professional racing crews.