News    All legsAROUND SPAINLeg 0Leg 1Leg 2Leg 3Leg 4Leg 5Leg 6Leg 7Leg 8Leg 9Leg Galway    Show 102050

It's been ten days in 'boxes' and now the Spanish boat is ready to fight for points in the in-port race in Brazil

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

PROVISIONAL OVERALL STANDINGS. Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012.

1. Team Telefónica (Iker Martínez), 147 points

2. Groupama sailing team (Franck Cammas), 127 points

3. Puma powered by Berg (Ken Read), 113 points

4. Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand (Chris Nicholson), 104 points*

5. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker), 55 points

6. Team Sanya (Mike Sanderson), 25 points

(*) Still to finish leg