Race leaders Team Telefónica returned their boat to the water today and declared it in racing condition after an error by a guide boat leading her into dock in Abu Dhabi left her shore crew with some hasty repair work.
The team said some slight damage had been caused to the bulb on the keel after it hit the bed of the marina as Telefónica came in after winning Leg 2 from Cape Town.
“We had an incident when we were entering here in the marina of Abu Dhabi, an error of the boat which was taking us through channels which had been especially deepened to take the boats,” said Horacio Carabelli, Team Telefónica’s technical director.
“Unfortunately, this boat went the wrong way and we suffered some damage. We have solved it but it is something that will always be there. We will always have to be careful.”
The hugely experienced Carabelli, who sailed in the previous two editions of the race and won in 2008-09 on Ericsson 4, said Telefónica was essentially problem-free with no hint of the rigging troubles that have haunted other boats in the fleet.
“We will train tomorrow,” he confirmed.
Nevertheless, he said he planned to use the three-week stopover in the next port of Sanya in Hainan Province, China, to work through a longer list of improvements to a boat that has already won the first two legs of the Volvo Ocean Race and the Cape Town V&A Waterfront In-Port race.
The fleet – minus Team Sanya which is completing the second leg first stage in the Indian Ocean – will contest the Etihad Airways In-Port Race this coming Friday (January 13) before departing for Sanya the following day.
The third leg will again be interrupted with the boats being transported by ship from Sharjah to a safe haven port to avoid the risk of attack by pirates.
From : VOR
Credit : M. Muina/Telefonica
The team said some slight damage had been caused to the bulb on the keel after it hit the bed of the marina as Telefónica came in after winning Leg 2 from Cape Town.
“We had an incident when we were entering here in the marina of Abu Dhabi, an error of the boat which was taking us through channels which had been especially deepened to take the boats,” said Horacio Carabelli, Team Telefónica’s technical director.
“Unfortunately, this boat went the wrong way and we suffered some damage. We have solved it but it is something that will always be there. We will always have to be careful.”
The hugely experienced Carabelli, who sailed in the previous two editions of the race and won in 2008-09 on Ericsson 4, said Telefónica was essentially problem-free with no hint of the rigging troubles that have haunted other boats in the fleet.
“We will train tomorrow,” he confirmed.
Nevertheless, he said he planned to use the three-week stopover in the next port of Sanya in Hainan Province, China, to work through a longer list of improvements to a boat that has already won the first two legs of the Volvo Ocean Race and the Cape Town V&A Waterfront In-Port race.
The fleet – minus Team Sanya which is completing the second leg first stage in the Indian Ocean – will contest the Etihad Airways In-Port Race this coming Friday (January 13) before departing for Sanya the following day.
The third leg will again be interrupted with the boats being transported by ship from Sharjah to a safe haven port to avoid the risk of attack by pirates.
From : VOR
