SAILING:WITH LESS than six months remaining before the start of the Volvo Ocean Race, an Irish entry still remains a possibility, according to the driving-force behind Galway's successful bid to stage the finish of the race.
There are six confirmed entries, with behind-the-scenes efforts to secure additional teams.
Enda O’Coineen said a campaign featuring a “world-class skipper” for a “joint Irish team” is at an advanced stage of negotiation.
An Irish team might consider using the Green Dragon, though other options of boats that are in near “race-ready” conditions may offer a turn-key solution with limited time remaining before the first in-port race on October 29th and the start of the first leg to Cape Town on November 5th.
Of the six confirmed entries, five are fully funded and have reached advanced stages of preparation; a close contest between these is certain, and given the evolution of the Open 70-foot class used for the race, now in its third generation, performance gaps may be so small the race is not decided until the final leg into Galway in June 2012.
Of the line-up, Franck Cammas’ Groupama was quick to announce for this edition of the race and cherry-picked the best talent: the race-winning Ericsson 4 and the builder of the last three winners, Corkman Killian Bushe. Damian Foxall was also signed-up within six months of the last race and is a watch-leader and crew-manager.
With the new Groupama boat launched and training offshore, their training-boat and last race winner is lying alongside the team base in Lorient, Brittany.
American Ken Read is back with Puma following the steep learning-curve in 2008-2009 and a new-build 70-footer will have a strong crew line-up: Brad Jackson and Tony Mutter, both past race-winners, are watch-leaders and are supported by a veteran line-up such as South African Jono Swain.
Their test-board, the first Puma, is also understood to be available.
The 2011-2012 fleet has Green Dragon skipper Ian Walker back for more along with 2006 race-winning bowman Justin Slattery in a fully-funded project sponsored by Abu Dhabi. Again, this campaign has secured proven talent such as navigator Jules Salter, Simon Fisher and a clutch of Green Dragon management team such as Jamie Boag and Dave Hassett.
Team New Zealand’s legendary America’s Cup muscle turns to trans-oceanic racing with a joint venture under Spain’s Camper brand with a team led by Chris Nicholson, supported by a who’s who of Antipodean professionals.
Spain will host the start of the next three editions of the race from Alicante, where the head-quarters will feature a museum that traces its history to the original Whitbread Round the World Race in 1972.
The Telefonica team has been confirmed with skipper Iker Martinez, who narrowly placed second in the Barcelona World Race.
A second Spanish boat has been confirmed but details are being kept under wraps.
Irish hopes of an entry rest entirely on O’Coineen’s expectations, and the outcome of the full line-up of the fleet should be known this month.
