| While we had not expected to see the boats in the Volvo Ocean Race line-up en masse before the In-Port race on Saturday off Alicante, today a dry-run took place for all the boats with the exception of Delta Lloyd. This was as much an opportunity for the new boats to check in with one another (although some sporadic boat on boating has taken place over the last weeks since the Volvo teams arrived here), as it was for giving the race officials a trial for what they can expect on Saturday.
I was fortunate enough to have blagged a ride on board Telefonica Blue where Dutch sailing legend Bouwe Bekking was running the show with 49er Athens Gold medallist Iker Martinez freshly returned from taking the silver medal in controversial circumstances in Qingdao. While Martinez helmed, his 49er crew Xabi Fernandez sweated around the front of Telefonica Blue’s giant cockpit. ...more |
