Telefonica round the Horn

An update from the Spanish VO70

Following the news that the World Speed Sailing Record Council has ratified his boat's monohull world speed record, at 530.19 nautical miles in 24 hours, at an average speed of 22.09 knots, Pedro Campos, General Manager and inshore helmsman of Telefonica Movistar commented: “It's excellent news for the whole team, the sponsors and the Volvo Ocean Race. Even though the feat was achieved last week, we have had to wait for the WSSRC to confirm the record. Now we are officially the monohull that has sailed the greatest number of miles in 24 hours in the whole history of sailing.”

Bouwe Bekking, the boat’s skipper, speaks of the joy of the crew when their feat was made official: “Everybody on board has received the news of the confirmation of the record as if we had set it all over again. We know what you do in the water is meaningless until it is made official, so today we will celebrate again”.

“From my position as Navigator, I have two reasons to rejoice," added Andrew Cape, "with the confirmation of our record, WSSRC is also confirming that the data collected by the boat’s measuring equipment is correct, because the difference between our information and the official data is a mere 0.2 miles”.

“The last two hours were slow and conscientious," Bekking wrote in the ship’s log from this time. "Not in the boat’s speed, but in Capey’s reading of the numbers. When we reached 525 miles, we knew the record was close; in order to break a record, you must sail at least one mile more than the previous record, so when we knew we had sailed 527 miles everybody on deck started shouting with joy. On the screen, this figure increased to 529.9 miles according to our data, but it was great to receive confirmation of 530.19 miles by the Volvo office”.

Stu Bannatyne, Watch Captain on the VO70, was the only one on board who had previous experience of a world record, when he was Watch Captain on board Mari Cha IV (as well as being on board illbruck when she set her 24 hour record). “When we set the previous record with the Mari Cha, the feeling was different, just as both boats were different. Here I have been able to see very clearly that the bigger the boat, the greater the comfort. Mari Cha is 140ft long, whereas this boat is just 70ft long. There were 24 people on board Mari Cha, and only 10 on movistar. But the emotion has been greater. It’s tough, but it is worth it nonetheless.”

During one of the satellite communications with the boat after achieving the record, Xabi Fernández, gold medallist and jib trimmer, emphasised the still-untapped potential of movistar: “We have the feeling that we can improve on this record. When we set the record, we were not following the ideal course, and the current was not helping. We think we can push the record a little bit further. I don’t know when, but we’ll do it”.

Meanwhile movistar has rounded Cape Horn. In just two weeks, she has sailed 4,300 miles from Wellington to the southernmost tip of the American continent, going from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic. “We have come across every sea and wind combination that one can encounter sailing," says Bekking. "From winds over 40 knots with monster waves and snow to dead calms, sailing at 5 knots with the sea like a mirror”.

“There were some moments of relaxation, like the day after the record, when we sailed with a soft breeze that allowed us to regain our strength and make small repairs. We also had to suffer the worst the Southern Ocean had to throw at us. Last Tuesday night, the wind picked up from 20 to 40 knots in just a few seconds and we started flying over the waves at a speed of 30 knots. At moments like these, you really appreciate the boat’s solid construction, and the fact that the safety harnesses are working!”

This was the first crossing of the Southern Ocean for Iker Martínez, Offshore Helmsman of the team. “We made the crossing at night; sailing very close to the rocks, with a wind speed between 20 and 25 knots, over a flat sea," describes Martinez. "For Xabi and myself, this was our first rounding of Cape Horn and the guys threw us a small party. Someone even produced some cigars!”

“It was very exciting, being there and thinking that we were finally rounding Cape Horn," adds Xabi Fernández, jib trimmer. "We have not come across any icebergs throughout the journey and according to Bouwe we should be thankful for having met such favourable conditions.”

The crew are using the delivery back from Australia as a long training exercise. This is proving to be a success in terms of the schedule established by Bekking and Pedro Campos. “It’s great that we have been able to test the boat’s behaviour in such a wide range of conditions, " says Pedro Campos. "We have collected a great amount of very valuable information. Furthermore, we have confirmed with satisfaction that the training schedule that took us so much time and effort, is starting to yield results”.

The mood so far on board is excellent. “The work is hard, very hard," confesses Xabi Fernandez. "We have just a few minutes between shifts and rest to think of little else but work. However, the team spirit is fantastic. Even though we had some very difficult moments, knowing you are backed by such a capable crew gives you confidence”.

“The cold temperatures were the worst part of this journey to Cape Horn," Martinez adds. "Down here, so close to the South Pole priorities change dramatically. Now I understand Bouwe when he told us that in these circumstances, all you dream of is a pair of dry socks”.

Once the boat was sailing on the Atlantic Ocean, having sailed past the critical point of Cape Horn, the VO70 movistar set its course to the north, bound for Rio de Janeiro. “Now that we have gone as far south as we planned, conditions should start to improve," says Stu Bannatyne. "We are sailing close hauled for the first time since we departed from New Zealand and when we sail past Staten Island, it will be sailing north all the way. We still have to sail a further 2,400 miles to Rio, but at least we will have left the Southern Ocean behind”.

movistar plans to arrive in Rio de Janeiro on 20-22 April, according to navigator Andrew Cape. “We sailed more than 500 miles on average some days, but on others, we did not cover such long distances. From now on, we will be following the currents flowing from the south until we reach the warm waters of the Brazil current”.