Fri, 15 Sep 2006 12:00:00 UTC
To complete our series, Bouwe Bekking tells us his story of movistar and the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06
Bouwe Bekking says he would have preferred to be writing this piece from the cockpit of movistar, but since she is either somewhere at the bottom of the ocean or floating face down he has had to do it sitting on the sofa at home! Here’s his view of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06.
Of course, I still have very mixed feelings about all that happened to us. Having to abandon a boat is not a good feeling, and not being able to finish the Volvo Ocean Race in ‘Movistar’ makes it even worse. It was, nevertheless, flattering that I was asked by one of the competitors to join them, but wrapping up the Movistar campaign took a lot of time. I had to say no. It has been a rollercoaster event for our team. Many highs and some lows. Like all of the other teams we encountered challenges and probably more than our fair share of misfortune. Where I can question myself is in the area of hydraulic rams, though here I learned a lot. We lost quite a lot of time because the design advice we received told us to go with carbon fibre rams. These arrived nine months late and only two months before the start. We quickly discovered that they did not work. Of the options available to us we elected to take a prudent path and go for the same type of rams as two of the other competitors. Along with these other teams we had difficulties with these but over time found the right solutions.
On a positive note
Let’s look at some good points. ‘Movistar’ was able to give us good speed. One of the main reasons for this was that our sail programme was excellent. Our sails were obviously different from the Team ABN AMRO programme, but as we had a less powerful hull shape our sail shapes had to be different.
The part I am the most proud of was the team. They were excellent sailors who never gave up and who stayed loyal to the programme even when faced with the major setbacks. The fitness level was high and that resulted in no injuries, so we could keep the same group from the start and nobody had to be replaced. The shore team did a good job as well, especially in the last couple of months; we grew together as a very tight unit and we could face anything.
Looking ahead
What we need to do for the future is to make sure that all the yachts finish without any problems. What happened during this race resulted in all the parties involved, from sailors, designers, insurers, and organisers talking to each other and working on solutions.
I believe in the Volvo Ocean Race as the ultimate offshore sailing event, not only for sailors, but also for all the sponsors. So I am looking forward to be back in three year’s time in some sort of role. Cheers.
Bouwe Bekking
Part 1 : From the Cockpit: Grant Wharington
Part 2 : From the Cockpit: Neal McDonald
Part 3 : From the Cockpit: Seb Josse
Part 4 : From the Cockpit: Torben Grael
Part 5 : From the Cockpit: Paul Cayard
Part 6 : From the Cockpit: Mike Sanderson