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Prelude to the Volvo Ocean Race

In a recent team update, Bouwe Bekking, skipper of the Spanish Volvo
Ocean Race entry, Movistar, said that with six of seven teams now in
Sanxenxo, Spain, he's starting to "taste the race atmosphere." He's not
the only one. As the start-day countdown finally dropped into its final
two weeks, boat measurements are wrapping up, crews are getting their
final physical exams (so they can gauge what toll the race takes on
their bodies), sails are getting re-cut, freeze-dried provisions are
getting sorted out, and tacticians are planning how to get through the
first in-port race without losing too much face, and without breaking
boats or body parts.

A virtual three-ring circus is now underway in Sanxenxo (I'm told it's
pronounced "San-chen-cho") where all except the Australian-flagged
Premiere Challenge, now have their bases in full pre-race high gear.
Sanxenxo, a tourist town on the northwest coast of Spain, is north of
the actual start port of Vigo, and it's here where only one in-port
race will take place-we're told in close proximity to shore. The race
is expected to be a 30-mile Olympic-type (combination of upwind,
reaching, and downwind).

The race will go down mid-day on November 5, and after that the boats
remain in Sanxenxo while race fans, media, and curious Galicians take
in the Volvo port experience. To keep the audience's attention, five
Volvo Extreme 40 catamarans, which are described as oversized Tornado
catamarans, will be racing mornings and afternoons, taking media and
VIPs along for thrill-rides. On Nov. 11 the fleet moves down the coast
to Vigo for the big send off on Nov. 12. Then, it's onwards toward Cape
Town and the race's longest leg.

With a completely new boat design, and so few under-the-hood details
known among them, a top-to-bottom ranking at this point would be pure
speculation, but Team Movistar is getting a lot of early attention
because of the time it has spent on the water learning its boat-the
24-hour record it has in its back pocket is a bonus. Plus, they picked
up two of illbruck's best guys in Richard Clarke and Stu Bannatyne.
Team Ericsson Racing, led by Neal McDonald, is another high favorite,
taking into account the experience and record of its crew, as well as
the team's get-the-weight-in-the-bulb boatbuilder Jason Carrington.

The true dark horse of the fleet is ABN AMRO's A team; its Juan
Kouyoumdjian-designed 70 is noticeably different than the other Farr
Yacht Designs, and over time they've hinted that they have a few tricks
up their sleeves (something in the sail inventory, perhaps?). Don't
forget that they have top-shelf navigator Stan Honey, and Mark
Christensen, the best watch captain in the business, and the benefit of
two-boat testing. AMRO's B team, while still young and evergreen, hopes
to "surprise a few people" in Cape Town, and they very well
could-stranger things have happened in the race's opening leg.

Brazil 1, led by Star class Olympian Torben Grael, has so many
unknowns, especially in its crew list, which has added new faces in the
last few weeks. They've signed on Knut Frostad, who has done the race
as much as or more than anyone in the fleet (last time leading Djuice
Dragons). Problem is Frostad can never seem to shake that dark cloud
overhead. Grant Wharington's Premiere Challenge, which in last month
has scuttled its pro crew in favor a pickup squad yet to be finalized,
is citing a serious lack of funds and will sail the race leg by
leg-certainly not a winning strategy. And then there are Paul Cayard's
Disney Pirates-a boatload of veterans intent on climbing the VO70
learning curve by the time they reach the back nine. No one is
discounting them, and with the high speeds these boats are capable of,
the way to stay in the hunt is, obviously, to stay in one piece.
Serious breakdowns will cause weather-system-sized gaps and there's no
green flag on this racetrack.

I'll be reporting in from Sanxenxo throughout the lead up to and after the start, so check this space regularly.