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by Mapfre media
Iker and Xabi fight to exit a zone of lulls that has engulfed the leader pack
In this morning's video link-up with “MAPFRE”, Spanish skipper Iker Martínez described current conditions for himself and fellow skipper Xabi Fernández on this nineteenth day of the Barcelona World Race, the two crew, non-stop, round the world regatta: “We're sailing close hauled with very little wind. We have the largest foresail we've got hoisted and the Code Zero, and there we are, going very slowly.”
As was evident from the most recent onboard footage sent by the double Olympic champions, the breeze is not accompanying the leading entries situated most to the East, something evident from the data in the 14:00 GMT position reports in which “MAPFRE”'s speed was 4.2 knots, compared with 2.8 knots registered by the race leaders, Pepe Ribes and Alex Pella's IMOCA Open 60; the 4.6 knots notched up by the second place entry, “Groupe Bel” and 3.8 knots of third placed “Mirabaud”.
It looks for now like the entries furthest West will be the ones to bring the goods home in the next few hours, as Iker indicated: “We're all in a lull here and it looks like gaining South will win and that those furthest West will speed ahead shortly. The others: ‘Estrella Damm’, ‘Mirabaud’, ‘Groupe Bel', and ourselves are still here with very little breeze, fighting in a very unstable situation, to see who will be the first to get out of here.”
In an area with no wind, despite what some may think, work onboard intensifies and requires an increased level of attention. Every small gust must be made the most of and the “MAPFRE” skippers know it: “There's gusty breeze here and some clouds nearby, so we have to move the keel, trim the sails, drop them... in other words, it's non-stop. Every change is important, because it might only be a few miles, but the first to reach the new winds will reap the rewards,” explained Olympic champion Iker Martínez.
Where will “Virbac Paprec 3” reappear?
At 14:00 GMT, “Virbac Paprec 3” with Jean Pierre Dick and Loïck Peyron has emerged from “Ghost Mode”. Onboard “MAPFRE” before this position report was published, the skippers had forecasted that the entry would appear, like “Foncia” heading rapidly West: “We are concerned about where “Virbac Paprec 3” is going to turn up, because the situation is somewhat complicated. It looks like they'll join 'Foncia' in getting away and in a couple of days time they'll be 500 miles or so ahead of us,” said Iker Martínez.
Both Iker and Xabi are clear that the best thing is to forget about their rivals for a while and to focus their energies on their own progress: “In any case, right now it is more important for us to worry about ourselves than the others, to get out of here and not to get stuck here a day longer than the rest of the fleet”, reflected Iker. “Also, the entries behind entered further windward with more breeze and an easier approach, so we are really in a dangerous position.”
Physical review after 19 days of racing
One of the concerns of Iker and Xabi's team is the physical condition of their skippers. Íñigo Losada (“Yiyo”), the trainer of the pair both for the Volvo Ocean Race and for the Barcelona World Race reminded us that: “we've reached the end of the third week, so it is time to make an evaluation of how Iker and Xabi are doing. It is essential that they keep up their fluid intake to avoid injuries and to maintain physical performance. That's true for both cold and warm conditions to aid thermoregulation.”
It is therefore essential that the Spanish pair don't forget the advice they received before leaving Barcelona, although, as Martínez joked: “As always, Xabi and I aren't following anybody's instructions and in the ned you don't sleep when you should or eat when you should...”
“But everything is going well and physically we have recovered really well from the first ten days of racing,” he continued. “We are doing much better than we did when we left Barcelona, with all of the running around we have been doing.”
Finally, Iker dedicated a few words to Íñigo Losada: “Yiyo, of course we haven't been eating everything you told us to eat, but we are doing well...”
The Tamborrada of Donosti
Tomorrow, Thursday 20th January is the feast of San Sebastián, where the people celebrate the festival of the 'Tamborrada'. The festival begins tonight at midnight and the city streets will be filled with the traditional drum march of San Sebastián, which will officially kick off the 'Tamborrada de Donosti'.
The Basque sailors onboard “MAPFRE” haven't forgotten about their local feast, and Xabi laughed: “A 'Tamborrada' is what we've got here! A 'Tamborrada' of clouds, showers and lulls. If we have some luck, we'll celebrate, and if not, we won't be celebrating.” In any case, there's no doubt that the capital of Gipuzkoa will be doing enough of that for everybody tonight.
A new regatta soon to be had
In the words of Xabi Fernández, a new regatta will soon commence: “It's not looking good for us, but we hope to emerge at an acceptable distance. Shortly a new race will begin with totally different conditions. We hope we won't be too far away to fight for it. We were confident seeing we'd moved during the night, but now we are stuck. Let's see if we can get moving again soon.”
GENERAL RANKINGS
Day 19 - 14:00 GMT
1. ESTRELLA DAMM SAILING TEAM (Alex Pella - Pepe Ribes) ESP, 20,641.7 miles from finish
2. GROUPE BEL (Kito de Pavant - Sebastien Audigane) FRA, +37 miles
3. MIRABAUD (Dominique Wavre - Michéle Paret) SUI, + 56,4 miles
4. NEUTROGENA FÓRMULA NORUEGA (Boris Herrmann - Ryan Breymaier) NOR, +103.2 miles
5. GAES CENTROS AUDITIVOS (Dee Caffari - Anna Corbella) GBR/ESP, +108 miles
6. RENAULT Z. E. (Pachi Rivero - Antonio Piris) ESP, +113.3 miles
7. MAPFRE (Iker Martínez - Xabi Fernández) ESP, +132.9 miles
8. FONCIA (Michel Desjoyeaux - François Gabart) FRA, +133.4 miles
9. VIRBAC-PAPREC 3 (Jean Pierre Dick - Loïck Peyron) FRA, +169.3 miles
10. CENTRAL LECHERA ASTURIANA (Juan Merediz - Fran Palacio) ESP, +249.2 miles
11. HUGO BOSS (Wouter Verbraak - Andy Meiklejohn) GBR, +274.8 miles
12. WE ARE WATER (Jaume Mumbrú - Cali Sanmartí) ESP, +317.5 miles
13. FÒRUM MARÍTIM CATALÀ (Gerard Marín - Ludovic Aglaor) ESP, +460 miles
** PRÉSIDENT (Jean le Cam - Bruno García) FRA/ESP, RACE ABANDONED
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Barcelona World Race
