Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (ADOR) embark on the gruelling ninth-month, round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race on Saturday in confident spirits as their boat Azzam and crew are in the best possible shape.
Skipper Ian Walker and his seven crew members are due to set sail from Alicante, Spain, for the first, 6,400-mile leg of the epic race to Cape Town, South Africa.
They will then head to Abu Dhabi, where they will stop over on January 2 and 3 next year, with the event finishing on June 27, 2015, with a final in-port race in Gothenburg, Sweden.
“The bottom of the boat has never been in better shape, so speed hopefully won’t be an issue,” said shore team manager, Guy Barron, on Friday. “Over the last 10 days we’ve been really putting the work in, servicing the boat, making sure everything is in perfect working order.”
While Azzam is racing, Barron and his team will follow the race closely online for any sign of equipment failure.
He added: “It’s nerve-racking watching the tracker to make sure the boat is not breaking. If something breaks, you know we won’t be sleeping and we’ll be thinking about it just as much as the sailors on-board.”
Azzam came through the Alicante in-port race with flying colours when it finished second behind US-based Team Alvimedica, while the crew were put through their paces by team trainer Pete Cunningham. He flew in from the United States to oversee daily gym sessions and also prepared the crew’s nutrition packs for the leg to Cape Town.
Cunningham said Walker and co are now in peak physical shape.
He said: “In one-design racing, there’s very little you can change on the boat. But you can make yourself bigger, stronger, fitter, and have the best nutrition.
“Our aim with the sailors’ training was not for them to lose too much weight. The boys have sailed 19,000 miles in the last three months, and yet everybody’s weight has gone up. Hopefully we’ve put on enough so that, even if they drop a bit on the leg, they’re still in good physical shape.”
Walker, a double Olympic silver medallist who skippered ADOR to a fifth-place finish when the race was last held in 2011/12, agreed that preparation had been perfect.
“We’ve prepared our bags of spares, our contingency plans if we have breakages, double-checked the rules and generally double-checked our homework,” he said. “I’ve no nerves yet and I don’t know if I will get nervous, as I normally don’t.
“Everyone has done their job superbly and we are well prepared and ready to go. It won’t be too long now and we’ll be out of here and headed to Cape Town — I can’t wait.”
The 2014/2015 Volvo Ocean Race begins at 4pm UAE time on Saturday and ADOR fans can follow the action at www.volvooceanraceabudhabi.com/en/follow-the-race/
This is the 12th edition of the race, which started in 1973 as the Whitbread Round the World Race, and which is held every three years.
