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All of the entries on the second leg of the Volvo Ocean Race are now heading for the location where the leg, which had to be divided in two because of pirate activity, will resume

“Telefónica” is already on the way to the Sharjah coastline in the United Arab Emirates. That's where, in approximately a week, the second stage of the second leg will start; a final sprint of 140 miles to Abu Dhabi and 20 per cent of the total leg points in play for the boats.

Unprecedented manoeuvres were required to get to this point and as Iker Martínez commented upon his arrival at the safe haven port a couple of days ago, peace of mind was hard to come by: “These boats are made for being on the water, not for being dangled in the air as they are lifted out of it. Anything can happen and very quickly. The process of loading and unloading a boat onto a ship is very complex, especially with these very fragile boats and it scares me a bit...”. However, he also added that “the guys we've got on the team are great at doing this and we have complete faith in them”.

A three-hour rest and back to work

The Volvo Ocean Race leaders were given little time to rest and by 7am local time they were having breakfast and gearing up to head towards the “Telefónica” mooring location, as were the crew of the second placed entry.

Before the loading process began, which was to be carried out in strict order of finish, the Spanish crew seized the opportunity to run through the list of jobs to be done. No materials were allowed to be taken on board and neither were the shore crew allowed to intervene in repairs, but as Cantabria's Pablo Arrarte explained: “we can manage ourselves with the equipment we've got on board already. We've begun by repairing the important bits: checking all of the winches, changing any ropes that were damaged, checking out the engine, the batteries... basically checking and repairing.”

The mast also had to be moved and the angle changed to avoid the crane from touching it. “The mast always leans slightly backwards so we had to move it into a vertical position and shift it three or four degrees”, explains the Spanish team's Technical Director Horacio Carabelli, who was present at every stage of the procedure.

Seven hours to complete the whole procedure

With “Telefónica” alongside the ship, all of the straps ready to lift her up and the mast shifted into position, the ship's crane began to lift “Telefónica” out of the water just after 09:30 local time. There were two people on board the yacht, two on a platform on the water and the rest of the crew, along with Horacio Carabelli were on board the ship.

Once it was in the air it had to be moved into position to be nestled into its cradle, which had been on the ship along with the other five cradles since the day before. This part of the operation took some 35 minutes. After that it was important to secure the yacht firmly to make sure it would travel in absolute safely.

Meanwhile, “Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand” was already moving up alongside the ship to begin exactly the same operation that “Telefónica” had carried out.

Some seven hours after leaving their hotel, the “Telefónica” crew returned. The Spanish yacht, now with three victories in a row in the bag, was ready to commence a rather unusual journey alongside four of her rivals.

Medical checks at Point A

Despite the fact that there were no on board incidents, Team Telefónica was the only team to have sent doctor Pablo Díaz-Munío out to the safe haven port. The doctor carried out all of the usual tests on the crew this morning, including pinch tests and other measurements and weighing. As the doctor explained, this information will be useful in following the individual progress of each crew member throughout the whole competition. It will also be used to gain some feedback on the diet the crew followed on this leg.

Everyone to Abu Dhabi today

Today, Wednesday, the entire Spanish team at the safe location will catch a flight to Abu Dhabi. From there the Spanish crew will head for the Sharjah coastline and to the point where racing on Leg 2 will recommence.