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The Spanish team has commenced training in Miami. Navigator Andrew Cape warns that we're facing a very serious leg

The countdown in Miami has kicked off. The racing format for this edition of the round the world race doesn't leave much breathing space and “Telefónica” has been back training on the water since yesterday, with four intense days ahead in Florida. Today (Wednesday) the crew headed up by Iker Martínez will be heading out again to the South Beach bay to do some five hours of training out on the water, and tomorrow it's the official training race, with the entire fleet taking part. On Friday and Saturday it'll be time for some ProAm and In Port racing respectively and on Sunday the start will be given for the seventh leg of the regatta to Lisbon (Portugal), kicking off at 17:00 GMT.

Tight schedule

There is barely a window left blank on the team's whiteboard planner at the base. With the boat back on the water on Monday evening, European time, it had been arranged that the crew would get back to their working routine on the Tuesday, however, most of the “Telefónica” crew members were already at the base by Monday, either working on the boat or on their specific shore duties.

There have been just three days 'off'. 'Off' in quotation marks because the crew have all been following the physical training programme at the gym under the supervision of the team's physical trainer Iñigo Losada, as well as the recovery sessions with the team's physiotherapist who has also travelled out to Miami, José Ramón Sánchez.

Following the skippers and navigators meeting with the Race Directors to talk about the upcoming leg which Iker Martínez and Andrew Cape attended, the entire Spanish crew met yesterday at the base to then dock out for a first feel of the Miami waters in a session where checks were carried out after the boat had been off the water for three days.

Today (Wednesday) includes physical training followed by a meeting with the full crew to focus on the important aspects of the day's schedule. At 12:00 local time (UTC -5) “Telefónica” will head out onto the water and won't return until the afternoon. 

Cape: "This is a very serious leg"

One of the highlights of this Volvo Ocean Race is without doubt the Atlantic crossing to Europe. “Telefónica” navigator Andrew Cape has crossed the 'pond' on numerous occasions, although he's made the journey from West to East five times in total; the first time in the 1993-1994 Whitbread (the former name of the Volvo Ocean Race) aboard the W60 “Tokio”.

There's a very serious leg ahead, as the navigator warns – one to be taken as seriously as a Southern Ocean and Cape Horn leg. “In weather terms it's always a tricky leg, but a good leg. We mustn't forget that it's a serious one, and you only need to look back and remember that not so long ago, just six years ago a boat and and a crew member were lost, so we've got to be very aware of that and take it very seriously”.

Since reaching Miami Cape has been working with the team's meteorologists looking at possible routings and conditions that may come up after Sunday, the day of the start. In his opinion: “we're facing the best leg of the regatta because it's almost as if we have the whole regatta in a leg in a short space of time: just 12 days. We'll get it all; light airs, strong winds, high downwind speeds, reaching conditions, some heat and some cold... It's always a good leg from that point of view and it should be very interesting”.

That is why it is also difficult to know whether this is a good leg for any particular boat design because “as I said, there will be a mix of conditions, differing greatly and each boat will have their moment. They'll be something for everyone to play with”, he says.

Start in the lead at Miami

Mathematically “Telefónica” will set off from Miami as the regatta leader, although the top four entries are currently bunched to within 17 points of one another. The difference between the Spanish crew in the lead and the French, in second place, was reduced on the leg between Brazil and the USA to eleven points. Many have questioned whether this will now affect how Team Telefónica takes on this Atlantic crossing and the two European legs afterwards.

For Cape there's no doubt about that: "We set off on every leg to win and we sail to win and that's what we always do, although the legs might not always finish in victory. We've now got a bigger points difference that we had at the start of the regatta [after the first leg the difference with the second placed entry was just two points and after leg two it was eight, and after the third, nine]. We're still in front overall and we're in good shape, as are the rest of the fleet. We are where we are and we have to keep on moving forward”.

PROVISIONAL OVERALL STANDINGS. Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012.

1. Team Telefónica (Iker Martínez), 164 points

2. Groupama sailing team (Franck Cammas), 153 points

3. Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand (Chris Nicholson), 149 points

4. Puma powered by Berg (Ken Read), 147 points

5. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker), 68 points

6. Team Sanya (Mike Sanderson), 25 points