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© Hugo Boss |
Andy Meiklejohn (NZL) Hugo Boss:
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© Hugo Boss |
"As kids we all looked up to Sir Peter Blake. That’s how it was. We followed his races around the world and his interactions with the public and the media, and pioneered a lot of the interaction with the public, back in the 1980’s and Peter Blake used to take all the boats Ceramco, Lion New Zealand, Steinlager on tour once they were built and sail them round all the ports and so everyone could go and have a look. Then Grant Dalton followed that, so there has always been that scene.
"For sure there is the culture now and there are a lot of New Zealanders do it, you are bound to know someone who is getting to the top of the tree, so in that way I suppose it is easier, but it is also a lot of people doing it, and a lot of competition for spots, and so what has probably made it a little easier in the rule promoting youngsters on the Volvo Ocean Race, that is good for brining on some of the younger guys, helped on by some of the older, more experienced guys than maybe 10 years ago.
"We have been talking a lot during about things we have done, and we have learned a lot since when we started racing. For a start when you are racing you always push harder (than on the miles he did with Alex preparing), and when you are racing when sail combinations get slow you change quicker, but we have mixed up the combinations at the front (headsails) quite a lot. There is culture that’s says that you have to put up as much sail and get as much power as possible, and, with having had to sail for so long with one reef in the main, then we have found that is not always right. We have learned a few tricks which we might not normally have learned."
Iker Martinez (ESP)MAPFRE:
"We have been talking a lot during about things we have done, and we have learned a lot since when we started racing. For a start when you are racing you always push harder (than on the miles he did with Alex preparing), and when you are racing when sail combinations get slow you change quicker, but we have mixed up the combinations at the front (headsails) quite a lot. There is culture that’s says that you have to put up as much sail and get as much power as possible, and, with having had to sail for so long with one reef in the main, then we have found that is not always right. We have learned a few tricks which we might not normally have learned."
Iker Martinez (ESP)MAPFRE:
“If the weather files are right we could be arriving at Gibraltar on April 2nd. We have 400 miles to get there and so in two days we could be there. There will be a zone with some light winds. We really just want to get there. Ninety days is a long time to have left and still be sailing. When you are this close to the finish all you want is to get to the finish quickly. At this stage it is almost impossible to consider catching those in front and the others are a good bit behind. So it is a situation which you have a lot to lose and have to gain an awful lot. But you have to remember Roland Jourdain in the Vendée Globe where he was so nearly there and still had to stop.”
Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA) Virbac-Paprec 3:
Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA) Virbac-Paprec 3:
“Physically we are well. We have a good amount of sleep. The end of this race is proving to be something of a punishment. It has slammed for three days without stopping. And speaking with Loïck we are sure we have never done as much constant upwind sailing. When we get there we will have done 15 days without sailing with the sheets eased. And that is a bit painful because these boats are not really designed for upwind.”
Barcelona World Race Media
Barcelona World Race Media