“This leg has taken far too long, and we’ve had some really tough moments, but we’ve finally got to Rio.” This afternoon Bouwe Bekking was clearly very pleased to finish this fourth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race, speaking from the Marina da Gloria, Rio, after 25 days, 14 hours, 41 minutes and 40 seconds of competition since their departure from Wellington, New Zealand.

“It was a tough decision to carry on after the problems we had at Cape Horn, but I’m sure it was the right one. I’m very proud of the whole team.” “In reality we’ve done two races in one.” Commented Xabi Fernandez, Movistar’s Trimmer. “We did Wellington – Ushuaia, and then Ushuaia – Rio de Janeiro. The last part seemed never-ending, especially the last few days, where we’ve had to hunt down winds that just weren’t there!”

Xabi will be flying back to Spain tomorrow to get back to training with the Olympic 49er team. He will be concentrating on their campaign for the 2008 Olympics in Peking alongside medallist Iker Martinez. “I have mixed emotions: on the one hand I feel disappointed about not finishing this race with the team, but on the other, I am very excited about the Olympic campaign. This has been an amazing 16 months for me, and I feel I’ve learned so much. I am sure that I’ll be back in another edition of the Volvo Ocean Race.”

A fighting boat

Spaniard Pepe Ribes highlights the fantastic potential of the boat. “The boat has proved itself to be very fast in all types of conditions, and it’s a great boat to compete in. Perhaps this has furthered our frustration during this last leg, and it has been a big blow for us. Up until the moment the problems happened, just 200 miles from Cape Horn, we were sailing at full throttle. I think it was when we had passed the second ice waypoint when the keel box doors broke. Even in the conditions we’ve had since Ushuaia, and with the keel fixed in the centre we’ve managed to get up to speeds of 30 knots.”

The entry of water onto the vessel following the keel door damage affected all of the electric systems onboard Movistar. This has meant that many of them have been dropping out on the way to Rio, as Ribes told us once on dry land: “The engines gave up a few days ago as did the alternators. Mostly all of the equipment that was waterlogged has been failing progressively. Since Ushuaia we’ve had a bit of everything in terms of weather. We left the port upwind with very strong winds, then we had a couple of stormy days with 40-knot winds, and then towards the end we had hardly any wind at all before reaching Rio. Thankfully, we weren’t short of wind as we entered the bay, which is what happened to us in the last edition.”

The boat is being prepared for the next leg

The shore crew barely waited for the crew to disembark Movistar to get going on the repairs, as Team Manager, Pedro Campos told us:“We’ve come to the end of a very complicated leg, and we will get going at full speed to get the boat back into optimum condition for next Saturday, March 25th, when we’ll be competing in the Rio de Janeiro coastal race.”

Campos highlighted the fantastic team spirit that the Movistar crew has shown during this difficult leg. “My most sincere congratulations go to each and every one of the crew, for the enormous efforts they have put in to get the boat to Rio in one piece. The tenacity and spirit of sacrifice they have all shown has moved all of us who have been going through this onshore.”

Upon arrival at the Marina da Gloria quay, the Movistar crew was received by the Spanish Consul in Rio, Mr Rafael Fernández-Pita, who greeted the team and warmly welcomed the two Spaniards onboard Xabi Fernandez and Pepe Ribes to Brazil.

Provisional general rankings Volvo Ocean Race
At the end of the 4th leg
1º ABN AMRO One (Holland), 49.0 points
2º ABN AMRO Two (Holland), 35.0 points
3º Pirates of the Carribbean (USA.), 30.5 points
4º MOVISTAR (Spain), 28.0 points
5º Brasil 1 (Brazil), 26.5 points
6º Ericsson (Sweden), 21.0 points
7º Brunel (Australia), 11.5 points