Running like clockwork
The final boat of the refit process has now entered the Boatyard – but work doesn't slow down in LisbonWith just over two and a half months remaining of the extensive, one million euro refit process currently underway at the Volvo Ocean Race Boatyard in Lisbon, there's plenty of distance travelled, and plenty still left to go.
We've already seen Dongfeng Race Team, the first entry to see their re-fitted boat come out of the shed, and MAPFRE, the second, putting their boats to the test in offshore practice, and looking better than ever. Vestas 11th Hour Racing, is nearly complete – and the eighth boat in the fleet – a newly-built Volvo Ocean 65, belonging to team AkzoNobel – left Persico Marine in Bergamo, Italy, where it has been constructed, and is currently heading for Lisbon, Portugal.
With just over two and a half months remaining of the extensive, one million euro per boat refit process currently underway at the Volvo Ocean Race Boatyard in Lisbon, it's still all hands to the pump.
We've already seen Dongfeng Race Team, the first entry of 2017-18 to see their re-fitted boat come out of the shed, and MAPFRE, the second, putting their boats to the test in offshore practice, and looking better than ever.
The refit of Vestas 11th Hour Racing, announced on Tuesday, is nearly complete – and the boat will shortly be ready to be handed over to new skipper Charlie Enright and team director Mark Towill.
Meanwhile, the eighth boat in the fleet – a newly-built, One Design Volvo Ocean 65, belonging to team AkzoNobel – left Persico Marine in Bergamo, Italy, where it has been constructed, and is currently heading for Lisbon, Portugal, where it will receive the finishing touches including deckgear, the mast and branding.
The stringent re-fit process, based around reliability, has been put in place to ensure that the boats can complete another 60-70,000 miles around the planet – and work on each boat has taken around 15 weeks from start to finish, with a new boat entering the facility every three weeks.
Now, the last boat of the re-fit has now entered the process to be sanded down – a major landmark in the race to upgrade the whole fleet of One Design boats ahead of the 2017-18 edition, which begins in October and promises to be one of the most extreme in recent history.
I feel that the Boatyard was massively underestimated last race
Liz Wardley
Liz Wardley, who in 2014-15 raced onboard Team SCA, has been working at the Boatyard since before Christmas, and is impressed by the efficiency of the operation in Lisbon.
She admitted that as a sailor, she didn't appreciate the scale of the task and level of efficiency inside The Boatyard, which was established prior to the 2014-15 race as a shared services centre for teams.
"I feel that the Boatyard was massively underestimated last race," she explained. "Everything from the planning, to the prep, to actually pulling it off, is pretty impressive. I definitely think we were a bit sheltered as sailors during the last race.
"I hadn’t seen it all in action before I got there – and I think that anyone who walks through the facility and sees how everything is going on would be seriously impressed. If anyone has any kind of concerns or issues putting their trust in the Boatyard, they can rest easy. It’s a very smooth process."