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The Spanish yacht will be unloaded from the cargo transporter ship carrying all of the Volvo Ocean Race entries to the Sharjah coastline tomorrow and the next stage of the second leg is set to kick off on Wednesday

The moment for the second leg of the Volvo Ocean Race to restart is drawing ever closer. The entire crew of Team Telefónica is fully focussed on the task ahead as current Volvo Ocean Race leaders and winners of the first stage of the leg between Cape Town (South Africa) and the safe haven port to where the boat is being transported.

Team meeting at the Team Telefónica HQ in Abu Dhabi

The entire crew, headed up by skipper Iker Martínez, has got together today to work on the final sprint of 98 theoretical miles on this atypical second Volvo Ocean Race leg, set to kick off on the 4^th of January. With the exact starting time yet to be confirmed, the fleet may leave Sharjah, one of the seven United Arab Emirates, at around 10:00 local time (06:00 UTC). This Tuesday, after a seven day voyage in cargo ship, the process of unloading the Volvo Open 70s taking part in the next stage of the leg from the ship must be carried out before the second stage of the leg can get underway.

There will be no changes to the equipment or material on board, with nothing to be taken off or loaded onto any of the boats taking the start. Although six members of the shore crew will make their way to the Sharjah coastline to assist with the unloading of “Telefónica”, only the racing crew are permitted to sleep on the yacht between Tuesday night and the start day.

There are six points up for grabs for whoever gets to Abu Dhabi first, five for second place and four for third. However, the first boat to tie up at the United Arab Emirate port will be the final winner of the leg. “A lot will depend on where we sail, above all and not giving way to error. It's some 100 miles and they'll be long and we have to keep on working as hard as we have been up to now. We have to try to choose the right place to sail and to give it our all”, said Pablo Arrarte, Helmsman on “Telefónica”.

For now, forecasts are indicating that it'll be a speedy sprint to the finish with breeze of around 20 knots. That means that the finish at Abu Dhabi could take place at around 15:30 local time, which would be 11:30 UTC on Wednesday 4^th January.

Action stations for the shore crew

Most of the shore crew were lucky enough to spend Christmas at home with their families, but not the New Year. Six members of the shore crew, consisting mainly of members of the the sail and rigging departments, as well as the technical team: Horacio, Alex, Fernando, Gabri, Mateo, Matt and Mateo will all make their way to the Sharjah coast in the early hours of the morning. The rest of the team are back at work in the extensive and well-organised Team Zone in the Abu Dhabi racing village after a well-deserved rest yesterday.

Once “Telefónica” is tied up at the port, the guys will jump on board the Spanish boat to carry out the list of jobs and checks required to get the boat ready to take on the third in-port race of 2012. They will only have three days to get the boat ready, not to mention the final 100 miles to finish the leg, so scheduling and carrying out these tasks is fundamental.

Electronics experts, sail-makers, members of the composites and construction, rigging and mast teams and purchasing and logistics people.

Everything is now in order and ready in Abu Dhabi to welcome “Telefónica”. It will be the second official stopover on this edition of the Volvo Ocean Race and the first time in the history of the regatta that the fleet finishes a leg in the Persian Gulf.