[Source: Team Telefonica] Following 17 days, 8 hours, 6 minutes and 38 seconds of the leg, “Telefónica” finished the sixth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race early this morning. After a heart-stopping final stretch, the boat headed up by Olympic champion Iker Martínez crossed the finishing line in Miami just 37 minutes after French entry “Groupama”. A fourth place for the Spanish team in this leg and they reach Miami maintaining the lead in the overall rankings of the regatta, although the points difference with their closest rivals have been reduced: to eleven points with second-placed “Groupama” and fifteen with third-placed “Camper”.

“We have to think about the fact that we are still in front on the leader board, which is important. This is the first ocean leg we haven’t finished on the podium and I also hope it’s our last. What we can do from here is prepare as we did for each of the legs and go for the next one, which is going to be both complex and tough, as well as very cold and windy, and then we’ll get to Europe for the final. We’re going for the next one!”, said Spanish skipper Iker Martínez just before stepping back on to dry land after more than 17 days at sea.

Yet again, a tight finish

“Telefónica” went all in against “Groupama” yesterday in the battle for third, a move which made in impact right up to the finishing line. The opportunity came for the Spaniards at one of the most central islands in the Bahamas, Cat island. The yacht changed course to put the island to port.

The play went well for Martínez and his guys who managed to move up to under two miles of the French boat, although they didn’t manage to get in front of them. With fifty miles to the finish just five miles stood between the boats.

Some seven hours before the finish the French boat was trapped by a cloud and was advancing at speeds of just over two knots, whilst “Telefónica” pushed ahead at 12 knots, with the finish 25 miles away. It looked like another podium finish was a possibility for the Spanish, although in the end the French broke free from the hold-up. At 00:29 UTC the podium of the leg was complete, with the final step going to Franck Cammas and his crew. The French skipper approached Iker Martínez to greet him, even before the skipper had stepped off his yacht, congratulating him on the battle the two had shared.

“The final 300 miles have been very intense because we were just seven or eight miles from ‘Groupama’ the whole time, but the course meant that it was really difficult to get in front of them and when we got into the channels at the Bahamas there were very few options available. We pressured them up to the finish. Towards the end they caught a cloud and it looked like we were getting close, but it wasn’t to be in the end”, said Alicante’s Pepe Ribes back on shore.

Iker Martínez admitted that “the result wasn’t what we wanted, especially as things were going relatively well until a few days before finishing, with everything under control more or less, the three boats leading and our rivals, the French behind and everything was looking good”.

“We fought for it right to the end, but it wasn’t to be. I don’t think that this result reflects the efforts everyone put in and the quality of work, but that’s how it is”, added the Basque skipper.

“Puma” winner of the leg. “Telefónica”, holds on to overall lead

“Puma” is the leg winner of the sixth leg, having crossed the finishing line at 14:14 local time (18:14 UTC). An hour and seven minutes later, at 19:21 UTC, “Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand” finished in second place.

After a total of six legs and five in-port races Team Telefónica continues to lead at the top of the overall standings, followed by “Groupama” (11 points behind) and “Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand” (15 points away) and “Puma” (17 points behind).

MORE QUOTES

Iker Martínez, skipper
The last few miles are always very intense. We were very close to “Groupama”, and we were there fighting with them. The guys in front had already got away and it was impossible to catch them up unless they’d been stopped, which they weren’t. “Abu Dhabi” was behind, but further away, so it was a fight between the two of us with us battling with the French right up to the finish. We tried to get past them a few times, but it wasn’t possible. It is a real shame because it would have meant so much to have finished in third here and to have come in ahead of “Groupama” would have been a good result, but it wasn’t to be.

Xabi Fernández, trimmer
A result when it’s not a podium finish is never a good result. But it’s also why the great legs we’ve done before this count so much and have given us the cushion in terms of points. We are still ahead, and that is always good and now what we’ve got to do is to rest a bit and then analyse what we did and prepare for the next one.

Pablo Arrarte, helm
The Equatorial legs are usually very hot and with light airs and you get the boat ready for those light conditions, so one of the things you cut down on is food. We knew that it was going to be this hot and that we’d suffer! You complain when it’s cold and you complain when it’s hot. There’s nothing you can do about it, but personally I prefer the heat because the cold is a lot tougher to handle.

Pepe Ribes, boat captain
The leg was going pretty well until about 1,000 miles to go to the finish when we were 20 nautical miles from “Camper” and 40 from “Puma”. At that point there was a break and a very strong anticyclone moved in and caught us. We had to gybe and look for “Groupama”. The boats in front got away and the French got past us. Until then everything was going well, we were comfortable with the guys in front and a small issue in terms of positioning meant that it wasn’t us on the podium today.

[Source: Emirates Team New Zealand] CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand has welcomed the ruling of the international jury on the team’s application for redress.

The jury ruled that the Race Committee had failed in its duties in several areas. However, the jury decided not to grant CAMPER any redress as they believed that the omissions of the Race Committee did not make CAMPER’s finishing score in Leg 4 significantly worse (In Leg 4 CAMPER finished 93 seconds behind Telefonica).

Part of the conclusion of the International Jury found; The failure to post the answers given to Telefonica on the electronic notice board was an omission of the race committee and the failure of the Race Committee to identify and resolve the inconsistency in application of NoR 5.2.2 (b) until after the conclusion of Leg 4 was an omission of the race committee.

CAMPER skipper Chris Nicholson says that despite no redress being granted the team welcomed the ruling.

“We feel strongly that the actions of the Race Committee led to confusion between teams and so it’s positive that the jury has recognised this fact. In light of this redress hearing it has become clear to me that Telefonica has not broken any rules.”

“We believe that following this ruling that Race Committee processes will be improved and this should avoid a repeat of this type of incident in the future. Now it’s time for all of us to move on and focus on sailing.”

[Source: Volvo Ocean Race] Groupama scored their first inshore win of the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race on Saturday after an uncharacteristic error from overall race leaders Team Telefónica handed them their chance in the DHL In-Port Race Itajaí.

In one of the most highly charged battles of the inshore series so far, Telefónica made a mistake while leading the fleet when they sailed the wrong way round the course.

Their slip-up, which came halfway through the race, relegated Iker Martínez’s crew to the back of the pack and ended their hopes of a third in-port win.

Meanwhile, closest rivals Groupama sailing team were given a free pass to jump into the lead, chased closely by CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand.

Despite constant pressure from their Kiwi/Spanish opponents, Franck Cammas’ crew on Groupama refused to relinquish their hold on the top spot, beating CAMPER by 48 seconds.

Groupama’s win takes them to 133 points, and within 16 points of Telefónica on the overall leaderboard.

Decisive victory by Groupama. Itajaì, 21 April 2012. Photo copyright Paul Todd / Volvo Ocean Race

CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand claimed second place and five points, finishing just one minute and five seconds ahead of PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG, who clawed back despite being forced to do a penalty in the opening minute of the race.

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing finished fourth, scoring three points, while Telefónica were unable to recover from their mid-race error and finished last, claiming just two points. Team Sanya did not start and will rejoin the race in Miami.

“I’m very happy because we saw a big improvement in this kind of inshore race from where we were at in Alicante,” Groupama skipper Cammas said.

“We’ve shown we can win. It’s always the boat who makes the fewest mistakes who wins.”

CAMPER continued their in-port form with another podium finish, their fifth in six races, to keep their dreams of ascending the leaderboard alive.

“You didn’t see us set the world on fire but we didn’t make too many big mistakes,” skipper Chris Nicholson said. “We had flawless crew work — the bottom drops the guys were pulling off were fantastic and allowed us to stay in the game. It was good racing from everybody today.”

An incredible comeback from PUMA saw them recover from last place to finish just behind CAMPER.

Ken Read’s men led over the start line but a penalty from the on-the-water umpires for a rule infringement appeared to have ended their hopes of winning, sending them to the back of the fleet.

But renowned inshore racer Read clawed his way back into the race, overhauling Telefónica and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, and challenging CAMPER for second.

Abu Dhabi took fourth, just 36 hours after their yacht Azzam arrived in Itajaí on a container ship after suffering structural damage on Leg 5.

Telefónica were left to limp across the line in fifth, five minutes behind Groupama.

“After we rounded the windward mark it was very confusing,” explained skipper Martínez. “There were two marks and I chose the wrong one.

“It’s the first time in my life I’ve ever made a mistake like that so I feel terrible for the shore crew who had worked so hard but the good news is that we had made many improvements since the last inshore race.”

Attention now turns to Sunday’s start of Leg 6 to Miami beginning at 1400 local time (1700 UTC).

Light winds are forecast for the start of the 4,800-mile leg, but within a few hours of leaving Itajaí the breeze is expected to top 25 knots.

DHL In-Port Race Itajaí results:
1st – Groupama Sailing Team 6 points – 46min 27 sec
2nd – CAMPER with Emirates Team NZ 5 points – + 0.48 sec
3rd – PUMA Ocean Racing by BERG 4 points – +1.05
4th – Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing 3 points – + 1.33
5th – Team Telefónica 2 points – + 5.40
Did not start Team Sanya 0 points

Overall:
1st Team Telefónica – 149 pts
2nd Groupama Sailing Team – 133 pts -
3rd CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand – 124 pts
4th PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG – 117 pts
5th Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing – 58 pts
6th Team Sanya – 25 pts

[Source: Emirates Team New Zealand] CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand will seek redress on the decision by the international jury to dismiss a protest regarding Team Telefónica’s sails during Leg 4.

The jury decided the original rule was ambiguous and that Telefonica were reasonable in assuming they were in compliance.

However, CAMPER has applied to the jury seeking redress as the team believes that Telefonica gained an unfair advantage from carrying the extra sail on board for Leg 4 in which Telefonica finished less than two minutes ahead of CAMPER.

The potential redress options available to the jury are open but would most likely include awarding of extra points and or placing CAMPER ahead of Telefonica on the leaderboard for Leg 4.

Camper getting ready for Leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race. Itajaì, 17 April 2012. Photo copyright Paul Todd / Volvo Ocean Race

CAMPER skipper Chris Nicholson says that team were disappointed that the jury had dismissed the protest and that seeking redress was necessary to ensure a fair result.

“We were very disappointed and surprised that the jury took this action. It seems unfair to us that we lost Leg 4 by under two minutes to a boat that was breaking the rules and carrying an extra sail than us. It’s the equivalent of a golfer carrying an extra club in their bag.

“We have nothing to hide and will be putting our case robustly to the jury.”

The international jury is due to hear CAMPER’s submission for redress tomorrow morning local time.

[Source: Volvo Ocean Race] The case centred around the number of storm jibs each boat can carry during a leg, and whether the wording of 5.2.1 in the Notice of Race which states each team must carry one such sail should be regarded as a minimum number or a maximum number.

Telefónica were originally told that the one storm jib rule was a minimum number, and therefore they could sail with two storm jibs plus the other sails allowed under rule 5.2.2 in the Notice of Race, without going over the maximum number of 10 sails in all categories.

Later, the Race Committee emailed the teams a different interpretation, saying an extra storm jib must be counted among the headsails.

That new interpretation led to a report from the Chief Measurer, saying Telefónica had one too many headsails on Leg 4, even though they were within the maximum number of total sails.

The Jury found that Telefónica had sought clarification over the relevant section of the Notice of Race in an appropriate manner and that, at the time, the Chief Measurer was satisfied that they were in compliance with the rule.

The Jury decided the later interpretation should not be applied retrospectively.

“Telefónica cannot be found to have broken Notice of Race 5.2 during Leg 4,” the Jury concluded.

“Protest dismissed.”

The independent body of rules experts was chaired by ISAF international judge Bernard Bonneau.

“The decision we made for quite clear for us,” said Bonneau. “We found that there was an ambiguity in the rules.”

Race director Jack Lloyd, Telefónica skipper Iker Martínez and Chief Measurer Shaun Ritson all gave evidence on Wednesday evening, while Telefónica were represented by legal adviser Luis Sáenz Mariscal.

Mariscal returned on Thursday to hear the verdict directly from the International Jury.

The jury was made up of:

Bernard Bonneau (FRA) Chairman
Peter Shrubb (BER)
Flavio Naveira (ARG)
Chris Atkins (GBR)
John Maccall (ARG)

[Source: Team Telefonica] Spain’s royal sailing federation, the RFEV announced today that sailors Iker Martínez and Xabi Fernández have been chosen as the crew to represent Spain at the London 2012 Olympic Games in the 49er class category. We spoke to the Basque pair in Brazil, where on Sunday they will commence the sixth leg in the Volvo Ocean Race.

Sailors of the year, current leaders in the Volvo Ocean Race and now you’re facing your third Olympic Games… does it get any better than this?

Iker Martínez: You can always do better and of the three things you mentioned only one is complete, which is the award from last year. We’re still competing in the ‘Volvo’ and we’ll have to see how it goes as there’s still a long way to go. As for the Olympic Games, well they’re in August. There’s a lot ahead and we hope it will all go well, but it might not. For now we’re focussing on finishing this round the world regatta in the best possible position and then we’ll be ready put our energies and enthusiasm into preparing for the Olympics. There’s a point where you do what you can and try to ensure that things go as well as possible, and that’s what we’ll be doing.

How did you react to the RFEV news?

Xabi Fernández: We are very happy and of course, this is great news for us. You might have an idea it’s coming, but until it actually does you have to wait and that’s always a bit nerve-wracking. It’s great news for us that we’ll be there and that we are in the running for another Olympic Games title. There’s still a long way to go and we have to keep calm, finish this regatta and then prepare and train as best we can.

What sort of training schedule do you have in mind?

Iker Martinez: Until the Volvo finishes, of course, we’ve got to keep fighting as hard as we can and that’s what we’re going to do. On the upcoming stopovers, if we can we’ll try to do some training. Meanwhile lots of other things can be done and we’ll try to make sure they do: the boat preparation, as the equipment is important and physically we’ll be trying to get into the best possible shape… I think we’ll use the time ahead to physically get into shape and so that when we finish the ‘Volvo ‘ we can really make the most of the little time we have. We can’t really say much more right now. We just have to hope that this round the word regatta goes as well as possible, that we don’t run into any breakages or issues, as that will give us more time and will allow us to do more 49er sailing. It will allow us to push forward on that track, because it won’t be easy for sure. That’s what we’ve got in mind. With little time, we’ll have to try to get the very most out of the days and hours we have available to us, which will mean improvising as much as we can, so improvisation will be what we’ll have to do over the next few months.

You performed well at Weymouth last year, without having followed the normal training schedule that you’re used to for 49er racing. Do you think that the Weymouth racecourse, with its strong winds is a strong point of yours?

Xabi Fernandez: Weymouth is a great course to sail in general, and also for us. I think they usually get good conditions there and it’s a place where there’s wind, but not in excess and the waves are not too big. It might mean that we can get away with the slight lacking in preparation that we are likely to have. The conditions might not be as tricky as at the Olympics in Beijing, where this limited training schedule would be unthinkable. We like the place and whenever we’ve sailed there it’s usually gone well for us and that’s definitely a plus.

Have you been able to follow the progress of you future rivals for 2012 at all?

Iker Martinez: We all know each other very well and have been racing against each other for years. It’s also true that there are some younger sailors, who joined not long ago, but we know them too. In that sense, everyone tries to follow the best possible training schedule for themselves and we’ll be seeing everyone at one hundred per cent. People train for the Olympics over four years and they’re all going to be at peak performance when they get there. Now the question is whether we’ll be one hundred per cent or not and that’s what we have to worry about now.

Have you set any clear goals for London 2012?

Xabi Fernandez: Talking about goals is tricky. The aim when you go to any Olympic Games is to come back with a medal and there’s a huge difference between doing that or not doing it. Due to the fact that we’ll be having an unconventional preparation for the games, our aim will be to do the best we can, to give it our all and to come out of it feeling that we did all we could. We’ll be fighting for a medal, of course, really going for it but we’ll see what happens. We have to stay calm and be aware of the situation we’re in.

IKER MARTÍNEZ AND XABI FERNÁNDEZ SHORT TRACK RECORD

Olympic sailing: 49er

Gold medal. Athens Olympic Games. 2004.
Silver medal. Beijing Olympic Games. 2008.
3 World Championships. 2002, 2004, 2010.
1 Runner -up World Championships. 2001.
3 European Championships. 2002, 2007, 2008.
1 Runner-up in European Championships. 2001.
3 Bronze medals in the European Championships. 2000, 2003, 2006.
3 wins at the French Olympic Sailing Week. 2002, 2006, 2008.
2 wins at the Trofeo Princesa Sofía. 2001, 2002.
2 wins at the Barcelona Olympic Sailing Week. 2001, 2002.
2 wins in the Spa Regatta. 2002, 2004.
1 Kieler Woche. 2008.
3 wins in the Christmas Race. 2001, 2002, 2006.

Ocean sailing

Current leaders in the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012 with Team Telefónica.
2nd place, Barcelona World Race 2010-2011. IMOCA Open 60 “MAPFRE”.
3rd place, Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009. “Telefónica Blue”.
Two leg victories
Four in-shore race victories
Two scoring gate victories
Volvo Ocean Race 2005-2006. “movistar”.
One leg win. The first ever Spanish entry to win a leg in a round the world regatta.

[Source: Team Telefonica] The Brazilian leg stopover is somewhat longer than the previous one, but that doesn’t mean the pace is any less hectic. Following ten days in ‘boxes’, “Telefónica” is now back on the water, firing up for a crucial week ahead in Itajaí. Leg six kicks off in six days’ time, and in five the in-port regatta will take place.

Working on the boat…

Just hours before she was back on the water, 20 people were still hard at work on board, with a considerable focus on the bow repairs “which still haven’t been finished to one hundred per cent.” The boat is currently undergoing the assembly process: the systems being put in place, as well as the winches, hydraulics, the mast…

The job list carried out over the past few days on the current Volvo Ocean Race leader centred principally on carrying out an exhaustive checking and tuning of the boat, which has now completed over half of this round the world challenge.

“The boat is in good shape and has been one hundred per cent checked over, which we didn’t get the chance to do in Auckland. All of the damaged areas have been repaired and reinforced to take on the second half of this round the world regatta, whilst respecting of course, the racing rules in terms of maximum weight,” said Alicante’s Pepe Ribes.

Ribes, who is “Telefónica”’s boat captain explained that “Telefónica” also had to undergo the measurement process again, which was carried out yesterday (Sunday). “The boat needed to be weighed following the work we’ve done, to make sure that it’s within the weight limits set out in the Volvo Ocean race rules. She passed with flying colours thanks to some great work by the team.”

“The main job for today is to raise the mast and check over all of the systems to see that everything’s in full working order so that we can get two days of training in ahead of Thursday,” said Ribes. “We are very happy with the job the team has done, although there are still lots of days of hard work ahead to get the boat back to maximum performance levels for Saturday. The shore crew guys are putting in some really long days and finishing late into the night, but thanks to them we’ll have the boat ready for Saturday.”

…and working on the crew

After a few days of well-deserved rest after almost two legs in one, with the Auckland stopover before starting the leg to Itajaí under a week long, the “Telefónica” crew have returned to their daily work routine today.

As well as taking care of the boat and getting it ready, the crew also have to do the same. The physical training sessions are carefully coordinated to work around the work being carried out on the boat, but in today’s session, the first in a crucial week for the team, coach Iñigo Losada focussed on “an activation session with cardio work and lots of stretching.” The focus was also heavily focussed on those who had returned home during the break: “We prepared the session today with the people who travelled back yesterday on the plane in mind. We tried to help them recover from such long flights and to adapt to the time difference.”

The youngest guys on the crew, ‘Ñeti’ and Zane, who both remained in Brazil, were able to work to a more demanding pace, as they hadn’t travelled and were able to withstand a harder workout. ‘Ñeti’ has also been following a special rehabilitation programme following a back injury suffered during the fifth leg.

Iñigo Losada said that fortunately Antonio “Ñeti” Cuervas-Mons “is already back in the standard team training programme and has finished his special training and is back following the same sessions as the rest of the crew, although we will try to build a couple of extra sessions in. Pablo [Díaz-Munío, Doctor] and I both agree that after morning and afternoon training sessions as part of his recovery, he’s in better shape than he was for the previous legs, where we didn’t have the time available to do such sustained training.”

Overall, the opinion of the Team Telefónica physical trainer is that after making it more than halfway around the world, the crew are in good physical shape: “Of course the crew isn’t in the same shape they were in when we were in Alicante, but they’re doing very well – probably a lot better than in New Zealand or China.”

During this final week in Itajaí, the physical training will be cut down to on board training, as Losada explains: “Once the boat begins to sail the priority becomes physical training out on the water. Heading out to sail and spending hours on the water is itself physical exertion. We don’t want to use up their energies in the gym because they’ll be out there carrying out manoeuvres and we want them to be well-rested so that they can make the absolute most of that time.”

So what’s left this week are evening sessions: “We’ll do some sessions focussing on recovery, as the priority now becomes the physical exertion itself of being out on the boat. Stretching, cool water therapy and lots of flexibility work.”

SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK
Thursday, 19^th April. 14:00 local time (17:00 UTC). Training Race.
Friday, 20^th April. 12:00 local time (15:00 UTC). ProAm Race.
Saturday, 21^st April. 14:00 local time (17:00 UTC). In-port Race.
Sunday, 22^nd April. 14:00 local time (17:00 UTC). Start of Leg 6: Itajaí – Miami

Statement by Juan Kouyoumdjian, designer of the Telefonica, Puma and Groupama boats in the current Volvo Ocean Race:

With our 3 boats safely in Brazil and under the risk of sounding arrogant, I’ll break away from my golden rule of not speaking until the end of the race to put the record straight since I believe we are presented with an intentional manipulation of the truth.

There is a common, spread notion that ALL the participants of this VOR have structural problems, that the situation is unacceptable and that something needs to be done for the future. A fundamental distinction needs to be done between the mast breakages and the rest, and whilst I think it is very important to understand what caused so many mast failures, it is a travesty of the truth to put ALL designs in the same basket when it comes down to the “other” structural issues.

This generalization might suit a specific Team, or person to push any agenda he might have for the future, but out of respect of the hard and serious work done with my Team I need to speak up.

In the first edition of the VO70s, we had 2 triumphs to celebrate that as designers we are very proud of. One is obviously that our design was driven to victory by a very good crew and the other one is that our 2 boats [both ABN AMRO] were the only ones that completed the full circumnavigation without major structural problems. This celebration was faded by the public generalization that because one boat sunk and others had structural failures, then ALL of the boats had problems and the rules had to be changed. Which in fact they did, for the worse!

The Puma boat is one of the three Juan Kouyoumdjian designed in the current edition of the Volvo Ocean Race. Photo copyright Amory Ross / Puma Ocean Racing

I didn’t say anything publicly then and moved on. However, seeing the same generalization occurring now, I’d like to stick to the facts and so allow for conclusions to be made without generalizations.

• A VO70 cannot be designed not to break. In fact, any boat in a round the world race cannot be designed not to break. So ultimately, breakages are in the hands of the crew.

• Puma won leg 5 without a major structural problem and this due to the excellence and experience of its crew.

• Telefonica finished 2nd in leg 5 with a hull delamination in port mid bow which did not prevent her from racing.

• Telefonica’s pit stop in Cape Horn was not a necessity but rather a very clever strategical decision based on having 3rd place assured and a weather window to exploit.

• Groupama, notwithstanding of an excellent management of the boat during leg 5 to see misfortune hit them with a broken mast, has sailed on her own means to Brazil without structural problems.

So, while we focus in understanding why there have been so many problems with the rigs, I’d beg not to generalize and avoid putting in the same basket the good work and brilliance of some engineers with that of others which are clearly not the same.

Juan Kouyoumdjian.
Valencia, April 11th, 2012.