The Volvo Open 70 movistar has set course for its VOR base in Sanxenxo after completing the Rolex Fastnet Race. The Spanish Round the World boat crossed the Plymouth finish line at 0519 hours last Thursday (11 August), after completing the 608 miles of the race in 3 days, 16 hours, 59 minutes and 9 seconds but had to settle for 14th place in IRC Super Zero class on corrected time.

Chatting about the race Richard Clarke, watch captain aboard movistar commented: “We didn’t have the right sails aboard for sailing in these [light] conditions. In fact, the spinnaker we used is designed for sailing in strong winds, and in the Fastnet race, we had anything but that.”

But it’s not all doom and gloom for team movistar who now feel they are more than ready for this November’s Volvo Ocean Race. Bouwe Bekking skipper added: “We have achieved the main objective that we had set for this race. We have trained for several hundred miles, we have practiced the watch system aboard, now we know more about how the boat sails and we have also enjoyed it enormously. A better result would obviously have been fantastic, but we are still very happy.”

Once in Sanxenxo, Galica movistar will be taken out of the water for a few days for a general overhaul and fine tuning before continuing its training programme. Pedro Campos, general team manager, was keen to highlight: “There are less than three months to go to the Volvo Ocean Race, and we are not going to ease off our work load. Almost all our rivals are already sailing, in the same waters even as we train in, which serves as a constant reminder that the moment of truth is close at hand.”