Mon, 07 Nov 2005 18:45:00 UTC
After a fantastic day on the water for the first ever In Port race, it was into the bar for just about everybody
Ericsson’s team were out partying late, the night after they won the opening battle of the Volvo Ocean Race. So were most sailors, letting off some steam in the Aviator Bar in Sanxenxo. Sailors tend to adopt a bar as their own, bestowing untold riches upon whichever bar owner happens to find himself with this honour. Until the fleet departs Spain next Saturday, the Aviator is that bar.
Every night has been a big night in the Aviator, but the evening after the race, the sailors, organisers, journalists and other hangers-on excelled themselves. The beer was flowing freely, as were the gin and tonics, which in Galicia seem to be served in pint glasses. You thank the bar maid for her generosity, and curse her in the morning.
Everywhere else in Sanxenxo and the Race Village, and probably throughout Galicia too, celebrations seemed to be the order of the day. Thousands of people had enjoyed the day on or by the water and wanted to talk about what they had seen, the fantastic boats, the King, the Princess and the Prince. And, as do all Galicians when they have something to talk about, they turn it into a party.
Even some of the ABN AMRO crew were out partying, despite their performance out on the water earlier that day. But it was late to bed and early to rise for crews ONE and TWO, who were both out practising in the bay by 0800 the following morning. A little later in the day Torben Grael took Brasil 1 for a training session.
Although most observers considered the Brazilians’ 2nd place to have been the stand-out performance of the day in the 14.4-mile opening race, the Olympic multimedallist clearly wants more. He has scheduled a week of hard graft on the water, looking to hone crew work in the final few days before the start of Leg One to Cape Town. So focussed is Grael on the job in hand, some corporate guest rides have been cancelled and even the team photographer is finding it tough talking his way on board.
The other Farr boats – movistar, Pirates and Ericsson – stayed in the dock, although there is still plenty of work to be done ashore, particularly for Pirates as they are playing catch-up more than most.
Of course no one is playing catch-up quite as much as Premier Challenge, the late-arriving Aussie boat. Grant Wharington’s team have it all to do just to get their white boat race-legal. Having arrived just in time for the parade of sail on the evening before the In Port race, the Aussie crew barely took time to draw breath before they set to work on dismantling the boat. The next day the rig was out, the boat was up on concrete, and after a day of hammering and bashing, they finally managed to separate the lead bulb from the keel fin. Like the majority of the fleet, the Aussies underestimated the all-up weight of their boat and the bulb currently makes the Premier Challenge hull heavier than the stringent rules allow.
The solution was to build a new smaller bulb in Australia and air freight it over. The bulb was duly constructed, but the team then discovered that the air freighter was refusing to fly it over to Spain. So as if the team hadn’t already got enough to do, they now have to hack away at the existing bulb until it comes in at the required weight. The weather has been kind these past three days in Sanxenxo, but on Tuesday the Galician port is due for yet another battering, with heavy rain and strong winds. Hardly ideal conditions for getting boatwork completed. Will the Aussies make it on time? Everyone is hoping they do. Other teams are lending tools and manpower to help Premier Challenge beat the clock. After all the months of doubt, Grant Wharington and his merry men may just be on Saturday’s start line after all.