In expectation of the start of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012 journalists from around the world filled the press room on the eve of Leg 1. The six skippers share their hopes, fears and predictions...

Chris Nicholson, CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand:

“The expected windy conditions do add to the tension to some extent but that is more of a management issue, just to get the boat out of the Med in one piece. In CAMPER we are used to these sorts of conditions as we have faced quite a lot of them in the last few months. The guys are ready for it and they will take it in their stride. There won’t be any sleep until we are out of the Med.”

 Ken Read, PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG:

“We’ve all sailed these boats in big winds. Just sailing from the Canary Islands to Alicante we saw 40 knots on the nose through the Straits of Gibraltar. I think we’re all used to it. It’s more uncomfortable than anything else, just a pain in the neck. It would be nice if it was a nice 20-knot cruise around the world in flat water but it’s just not the way it is or how we do it. We’re going to be wet, tired, but that’s absolutely what we signed up for. The whole crew knows it and we are confident in the strength of our boat so we really don’t have any problems.”

Mike Sanderson, Team Sanya:

“We’ve got enough off shore experience to remain safe and remain responsible and we’ve certainly got enough talent on board to sail fast, so I’m certainly looking forward to getting amongst it.”
“One of the things traditionally this leg has shown is an all-round fast boat goes well. You get all sorts of conditions in this first leg. In the last two races the 24-hour record has been broken once we hit the westerlies in the southern hemisphere. The reason that in the past the winner of the first leg has gone on to win the overall race is because of preparation. This time there are five campaigns all here to win and us to get in their way. For the first time ever we truly have five teams who could win this race.”



Franck Cammas, Groupama sailing team:

“I am very proud to be here with these guys around me (the other skippers). I have a lot still to learn but I am very excited about that. Offshore, I’m pretty sure my crew is very good. We have a lot of skill on board. We know this first leg well.”

Iker Martínez, Team Telefónica:

For us our goal is to try to be good on this leg, We really look forward to going out sailing. A good result would be to be in the top three. Getting a podium finish is really important, really important for this race. If you are really close to the one who wins you are there. It’s really important to make sure you are there. That’s the most important for this leg -- to make sure you are not out of the game.”

Ian Walker, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing:

“You look at the certificates of all the boats here and they’re pretty much at máximum speed, pretty much at minimum weight, maximum keel weight, minimum mast weight -- you know these boats are all very similar. I don’t think there are going to be any glaring issues. We’re going to have a race.”

The first points of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 will be up for grabs on Saturday – and although the event is known as the world’s premier round the world yacht race, first blood will go to the team that’s quickest round an inshore course.

 At 14h the starting gun will fire and the six Volvo Open 70 race boats will open the throttles in the Iberdrola In-Port Race, marking the start of nine months of full-on competition and intense rivalry.

In-Port races take place in all 10 Host Ports around the world testing the crews’ skills at close-quarters manoeuvres and tactics. Sailed close to the shore, the races provide a spectacle for the millions of people who will watch the race worldwide, while also providing opportunity for the teams to pick up extra points that could prove vital when overall positions are decided.

For some teams the focus will be entirely on scoring in the nine offshore legs, and that will be reflected in the way they approach the inshore racing. But for others, the In-Port races will be key to moving up the overall leaderboard as more than 20 per cent of all points on offer over the entire race can be won.

For us, in the Volvo Ocean Race Media Center, this weekend will be crazy but doesn't matter, we are excited and we gonna enjoy with the start of the action in Alicante.

Links:
Info about the Iberdrola In-Port Race
How to follow the race

Many hands, and even a set of wings, helped to make light work of rubbish on Alicante’s Postiguet Beach yesterday where locals, visitors and intrepid albatross Wisdom joined the Volvo Ocean Race and Skeleton Sea for the first Community Beach Clean.

It was a successful start at the first of 10 beach cleans that will be carried out across the globe during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 in a bid to raise awareness of the increasing rubbish in the world’s oceans and at beaches.

The beach cleans are part of the Keep the Oceans Clean! campaign, an environmental initiative created by the Volvo Ocean Race and artist collective Skeleton Sea.

Joining Keep the Oceans Clean! campaign were different local and international groups such as members of Alicanre Surf Club (Hugo, Begoña, Hector, Ana and Alex) Cruz Roja, school students, Volvo Ocean Race Staff and even members of CAMPER or the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing Team Director Jamie Boag, we were collecting everything from bottle tops to cigarette butts and plastic bags.

A great afternoon claiming an important message: KEEP THE OCEANS CLEAN!

Programación ASC semana del 24 al 30 de octubre:

- Recogida de Basuras

Miércoles 26 de Octubre a las 17 h en el Postiguet

Actividad en colaboración con Skeleton Sea y Volvo Ocean Race en la iniciativa KEEP THE OCEANS CLEAN (mantén limpios los océanos) NO FALTES! EL MUNDO TE NECESITA

- Prueba gratuita de los SUP

Domingo 30 de Octubre de 10 a 14h en el Postiguet

Prueba de tablas de SUP's Laird en exclusiva para el Alicante Surf Club. Para inscribirte envía un email a alicantesurfclub@yahoo.es o escríbelo en el muro de facebook del ASC ANTES del miércoles 26 de octubre a las 23:59h

Durante 3 semanas los visitantes a la Race Village podrán disfrutar de más de 40 actividades y múltiples conciertos que se realizarán en nuestras instalaciones, lo que sumado a nuestro mar y nuestro clima dará mucha vida a la ciudad de Alicante, logrando acercar a todos la pasión por el mar y la vela.

Nadie debería perder la oportunidad de conocer la Volvo Ocean Race estos días, la Race Village ya está abierta!!

Con la entrega de Doña Letizia de la bandera de España, finalizaba el acto de amadrinamiento, bandera que el equipo de pabellón español lucirá durante la regata de calificación que disputa junto al resto de la flota de la Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12.

Los Príncipes saludaron a todo el equipo de Team Telefónica y subieron a bordo del Telefónica, y más tarde los Principes quisieron también saludar al resto de patrones de los demás equipos de la Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12: Mike Sanderson de Team Sanya, Chris Nicholson de CAMPER , Ian Walker de Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing y Ken Read de PUMA Ocean Racing. Tras el acto los equipos se lanzaron al mar para completar la primera regata de calificación de la Volvo Ocean Race.

Sin duda un bonito gesto de la Familia Real, siempre tan comprometida con el deporte nacional.

Ayer nos vino a visitar a la Village de la Volvo Ocean Race el Secretario Autonómico de Turismo y Proyectos Estratégicos, Luis Lobón.

Con esta visita presentamos los más de 40 actividades diferentes para todos los públicos que se realizarán en la Race Village de Alicante del 14 de Octubre al 5 de Noviembre. En esta programación se incluyen; talleres, exposiciones, programas educativos de ocio, deporte y aventura. Además se han programado 21 conciertos, 16 de ellos gratuitos  que incluyen un tributo a bandas míticas de rock (Rolling Stones, Beatles, U2, Ramones, Police, Iberia Sumergida), una DJ Session con Carlos Jean y un concurso musical destinado a grupos locales. Por otro lado, se desarrollará un programa escolar, que se destina a 5.000 de 75 colegios. Alumnos de 4º y 5º Primaria de Alicante que visitarán el Village entre el 17 de octubre y el 4 de noviembre.

Otra novedad de esta edición de la Volvo Ocean race es la exposición Skeleton Sea, que ha tenido un enorme impacto en todas las ciudades del mundo donde se ha exhibido, y que utiliza residuos del mar para crear gigantescas esculturas de arte, ofreciendo un mensaje ecológico. Sin olvidar los talleres de libre acceso para los más pequeños sobre el mar, la vela, pero también las nuevas tecnologías; con espectáculos y animaciones; simuladores de navegación y una terraza de ocio.

Desde luego el aburrimiento no entra dentro del plan en la Village de la Volvo Ocean Race de Alicante!!

With 100 days to go until the sea-hardened yachting fleet arrives, permanent construction work on a specially-designed Destination Village -- the size of eight football pitches -- is now complete. We have today launched a specially-commissioned animated flythrough of the Destination Village. Open free of charge to the public from December 31st 2011-- 14th January 2012, the Destination Village will be packed with activities and entertainment including exhibitions, shows, simulators, hospitality, game zones, restaurants and cafes, sailing schools and shops.

On the other hand this edition for Abu Dhabi and the Volvo Ocean Race opens a new chapter in the Middle East's maritime history - representing the only time the region has achieved relevance within the 'Everest of Sailing'. It's a status which celebrates the emirate's, and the region's, rich maritime heritage within a distinctly modern context.

He sido partícipe de otros muchos pero sin duda la Volvo Ocean Race es el evento que afronto con más ganas, no solo por el reto que supone, su envergadura, la repercusión mundial que tiene o por ser esta la segunda vez consecutiva en que Alicante será puerto de salida de uno de las más prestigiosas regatas del globo sino también por mi estrecha relación con el mar y el mundo de la náutica.


40 days remaining, the action starts in Alicante


Volvooceanrace.com