Movistar and her crew are enjoying a well-deserved rest in North Marina Cove in NY’s emblematic Battery Park, following the close of the sixth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. The Spanish vessel only managed a fifth place following a neck and neck battle for second right up until close to the finish line.

A sudden drop in wind just 10 miles from the finish deprived Movistar of the necessary wind to execute their persecution of Pirates of the Caribbean, whilst the crew looked on powerless as Ericsson and Brasil 1 passed them. After 380 miles sailed, just five minutes separated the three boats from one another.

“We were going well all the way, sticking with Pirates, but then as we came into the bay the wind just dropped completely and I think they did a sail change, because they just got away from us.” Commented bowman Pepe Ribes upon arrival in the Big Apple..

“The ones behind us were close to land just as the wind shifted forty degrees which definitely gave them an advantage. First Ericsson passed us on the bow, then Brasil slipped past in a shallow area that we had ruled out as we thought it wasn’t a viable route."

After seeing ABN AMRO One escape in perfect conditions for the Dutch boat, Movistar focussed on their closest rival in the competition general rankings.

“We opted for the strategy of chasing down Pirates, but the boats behind caught up with us. Instead of marking those who were chasing us we went into battle with the Pirates, which is understandable as that second place was between them and us.” said Pepe Ribes.

“This leg has seen us push the boat to 100% the whole way and we tried a tactical entry to New York, and perhaps that is where we let ourselves down,” added Fernando Echavarri. “Brasil 1 were the cleverest, sticking like glue to Ericsson the whole way until they saw their gap and they went for it, overtaking them as well as us.”

The Spanish team have lodged a protest against the Swede’s entry into the River Hudson Bay, as Echavarri points out: “We’ve lodged a protest against Ericsson because they made us alter our course when we were rolling over the top of them. It’s a clear breech. According to maritime regulations obstructing the course of another boat in competition during the hours of 8pm to 8 am is not permitted. As we were passing them on the windward side they began to come up against the entry canal, which was their only option to stop us from passing, but it was an illegal manoeuvre. That was where Brasil 1 passed us.”

Bouwe Bekking made no secret of his frustration as he disembarked: “I’m disappointed with the result, naturally. Fifth place in the leg, coupled with a move down in position spells bad news for us. We were so close to Pirates throughout, but last night we just got ourselves stuck in a hole and we just couldn’t react. Brasil 1 took a risk by going in through a shallow patch and it paid off for them, so I congratulate them on that.”

Whilst he is aware that this is a bad result for the crew, Fernando Echavarri tried to look on the bright side: “Of course we’re disappointed with the result, but we all know that this makes the RTW race all that more exciting. We are just half a point away from Pirates, Brasil did well as did Ericsson, who really needed it. This just means that the next leg will be very interesting indeed.”

A hard day’s night

The wind conditions that awaited the fleet as they came out of Chesapeake Bay made for an uncomfortable and difficult course.

“The night was definitely a bumpy one as we were sailing with the wind face-on an the current in our favour which translated into some huge waves. We were wet and sleep-deprived turning time and time again. As most people know by now, when one of these boats turns, it really turns, taking the whole weight of the vessel from one side to the other. This, coupled with five metre waves can be a bit sticky.”

For Fernando Echavarri this has been the toughest night of the competition so far:
“Truthfully, I think I’ve worn myself out more in the last 40 hours than I did in the whole of the two weeks from Rio to Baltimore. We’ve had a lot of sail changes and a lot of tacking during the whole course which is exhausting. I don’t know how many tonnes we’ve actually moved, but just think, it must be hundreds as we moved 3.5 tonnes from side to side for over thirty hours.”

Movistar’s shore crew will move in to repair a problem with the winch mechanism, which will be absolutely essential in the race from the Big Apple to Portsmouth, UK.
As Bekking points out, “it wouldn’t be wise to cross the Atlantic with a fault like this, even though we’ll get a two hour penalty before leaving the dock for the next leg. We’ve chosen safety over time.”

The boats will stay in North Cove Marina, in the very heart of NY’s financial district, and just 200m from Ground Zero, until this Thursday. At 13:00 local time, 17:00 GMT the start to the sixth leg will be given, a leg which will see the fleet head out towards Portsmouth UK across the mighty Atlantic. Movistar’s start will be delayed until 15:00 local time, 19:00 GMT due to the penalty.”

With today’s results Movistar loses a position to move into third place in the general rankings, whilst the Pirates of the Caribbean take second. However, the Spanish boat is just half a point behind the Pirates, and they have a healthy 5 point margin on fourth place ABN AMRO Two.

Provisional Rankings 6th Leg (Annapolis-NewYork)
Volvo Ocean Race 2005-2006
1º ABN AMRO One (HOLLAND), 1 day, 15 hours, 7 minutes and 36 secs
2º Piratas del Caribe (USA) 1d, 17h, 47m, 11s
3º Brasil 1 (BRAZIL), 1d, 17h, 56m, 52s
4º Ericsson (SWEDEN), 1d, 17h, 59m, 49s
5º MOVISTAR (SPAIN), 1d, 18h, 01m, 26s
6º Brunel (Australia), 1d, 19h, 41m, 17s
7º ABN AMRO TWO (HOLLAND), 1d, 20h, 36m, 15s

Provisional Rankings Volvo Ocean Race
1º ABN AMRO One (HOLLAND): 70.5 pts
2º Piratas del Caribe (USA) 47.5 pts
3º MOVISTAR (SPAIN): 47 pts
4º ABN AMRO Two (HOLLAND): 42 pts
5º Brasil 1 (Brazil), 42 pts
6º Ericsson (Sweden): 34.5 pts
7º Brunel (Australia): 2.5 pts

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