VOR: Mind Games

Volvo Ocean Race skippers at the in-port race press conference. Image copyright Dave Kneale/Volvo Ocean Race.

by Riath Al-Sammarai

It's just as well Iker Martinez is so laid back, because if he wasn't the weight of pre-race expectation would most likely crush him into the ground.

Telefonica Blue won, at a canter, in the prediction stakes at Saturday morning's Boston in-port race press conference.

"If they don't win it will be a huge upset," said PUMA skipper Ken Read.

"I think if the conditions come right it's Telefonica's race to lose," added Ian Walker, Read's counterpart on Green Dragon.

Torben Grael, the Ericsson 4 frontman, joined the chorus, citing the Spanish team's pre-event training base. "They have practised in the light air in Alicante and their boat is quite light air orientated so it is natural that they will be a strong team for tomorrow's race," he said.

The theory, in its simplest terms, is that when the wind speed is slower than 10 knots, Telefonica's two boats are fastest. The forecast, at this stage, is suggesting a light air duel, the sails feeling a shade more than 10 knots at best.

Naturally, Telefonica Blue is the stronger of the team's twins and they have proven their credentials in the light breeze.

In Alicante, where the breeze struggled to reach nine knots, Blue won by nearly two minutes, Black the next boat to cross the line. And in Qingdao, with even lighter breezes, Blue took second. They then surged from fourth to scoop top spot in Rio de Janeiro after in six to eight knots. Even in the strong breeze of Singapore, they claimed third. In short, it is the best inshore record in the fleet.

The omens, therefore, would appear to be favourable and hence the expectation.

"They are fast in the light, fastest upwind in all conditions," added Walker. "Anything under 10 knots they have a little advantage over the other guys. It's not so much that it's handed to them, but if they get a good start and get clear they can stretch away. But if they're in the pack they can't just sail around everyone."

Read continued: "They have shown clearly from the light air races in the Mediterranean through to this point, that they sail the boat well in that condition, they like that condition, their boat's perform in that condition and their sails work in that condition.

"They keep their boat going fast even in the lightest little spots. People say they got lucky in Rio but you make your luck too. At some point you have to take the lucky label off and say they know what they're doing. Less than 10 knots, in between that J1 and masthead genoa range, it seems to be where they thrive and most the in-port races have been done in that condition."

But trophies do not get handed out at pre-race press conferences. "Anything can happen," said Martinez, Blue's inshore skipper. "We saw in the other inshore races that these are very close. The one who wins it will be a couple of seconds, maybe because of a good gybe or start. I think all the boats are very close and I will not be surprised by anyone winning the race.

"Sure, I'd probably say I feel happy, though," he smiles. "Our boat is good in these conditions, it helps us. But we have to sail right, we have to make sure we do the manoeuvres right and get a good start. It is not easy to come back if you are losing, this is a strong fleet.

"You look at the Dragons, they are doing well inshore, or Delta Lloyd or Ericsson 3, who are getting better. If the boat helps you it is much easier, but there is a lot of areas where you need to be good."


On board Ericsson 3 during the practice race for the In-Port race in Boston. Image copyright Rick Tomlinson/Volvo Ocean Race.

Predictably, Black skipper Fernando Echavarri, in a boat identical in design to Blue's, is looking forward to the race. But like Martinez, and every other skipper, Echavarri emphasised that there is a lot more to winning an inshore race than a boat suited to a given weather state.

"The boats perform really well in the light," he said. "But it is really important to get the first two or three tacks right and whoever rounds the first mark first does well. I would like a podium, and these conditions make it a bit more possible for us. But it is a lot about crew work and luck and there is nothing certain."

Especially when a boat like Ericsson 4 is in the fleet. They lead Blue by 13 points in the standings and have managed two first-placed finishes and a couple of fourths in the inshore races so far. And, as Grael explained, there are not many conditions they fear. "It's going to be light and unfortunately most of the in-port races have been in light conditions," he said. "Our boat is a good all-round boat and it does well in light airs.

"Some other boats are good in the light than the windier conditions, but we feel happy."

In any case, there are other factors at play. "There's no guarantee on what the wind will do," was one point forwarded by Echavarri.

And another is that a container carrying many of the team's inshore sails has not yet reached the race village. "If the sails don't arrive we won't do very well," Walker said. "We won't have a Code Zero and we won't have any spinnakers. I think the sails will arrive and who knows. If everything goes right though, I think we can do quite well. But who knows?"

Who knows anything? At the moment it is little more than educated guesswork over who will win this race, but either way Martinez is not feeling the pressure.

"It is good when people think you have a chance," he said. "Maybe we can do well."

Volvo Ocean Race