"I'm not hauling that!"

Green Team's VOR70 exits McConaghy's in China

The Green Team's Volvo Open 70 is on the move - it has now left builders McConaghy's in Zhuhai, China and is now on a ship bound for the UK.

A 25-tonne crane was bought into McConaghy's yard in lift the boat, but it did not have enough reach, so a larger 95-tonne crane was bought in to lift her onto the lorry. Unfortunately the lorry driver then decided he did not want to be in charge of such a big load in case he attracted unwelcome attention from the police. He was eventually persuaded otherwise ( Ed - How did they do this? Your comments here ...!)and the Green Team's Volvo Open 70 started her first journey.

Getting past the low-level telephone wires at the yard entrance the was the most eventful, but the remainder of the journey to Doumen Port, dodging minibuses and motorcycles, was fortunatley uneventful. The Green Machine was then moved across the Pearl River delta to the Kwai Chung Container Terminal in Hong Kong before being loaded onto a ship bound for Southampton, UK.

Ian Walker Green Team Skipper said, “Making the decision to build a Volvo Volvo Open 70 late in the day meant it was crucial we had the right design and build team in place. It’s amazing to think that in seven months they have managed to meet the timeline and get her shipped back to the UK. We now can’t wait to fit the keel and mast and get her out on the water to start preparing for the world’s greatest sailing race”

More pictures on the following pages