90 days giving it their all
The Estrella Damm Sailing Team is currently on the home stretch of the Barcelona World Race. After three months of gruelling competition, Alex Pella and Pepe Ribes are almost at the gates of the Strait of Gibraltar, after which they will face the decisive and unpredictable Mediterranean leg, before finishing up in their home city, Barcelona.
They have been at sea for ninety days, competing to the highest level, coping with the critical, nail-biting moments typical of such an extreme race, but the crew has always drawn strength from the same thing — perseverance and professionalism in achieving their dream sail round the world. When they were fighting for second position, fate struck in the form of an unexpected technical fault, forcing them to call at port in New Zealand, dropping them back four positions. However neither this nor cyclone Atu — through which they passed prior to the fault and which caused them a considerable amount of damage — was enough to dampen the unbreakable spirits of Pepe and Alex.
Alex stresses the maxim of the Estrella Damm team to keep up their toughest competitors “it's all about direction, and speed" — it's as simple, and as difficult, as that. Everything's going well on board,” assures the Barcelona-born skipper “at this point in the race there's nothing seriously wrong with the boat; with regards to food we're doing wonderfully, thanks to all of Jan Santana’s careful planning (the team's manager) we've got more than enough!". With such excellent circumstances, the team is feeling highly optimistic about seeing the Estrella Damm cross the finish line in Barcelona, at the end of an incredible adventure. But before that happens, there's still one final push to go "or three, if needs be!" says Pepe.
Bye Bye, Big South
The sea temperature is 10 degrees, an unequivocal sign that we really heading north now. We have left Cape Horn behind us, which we didn’t see because of our decision to stay further south to avoid the winds sending us off course.
HEADING TO THE FALKLAND ISLANDS, CROSS WIND OF 15 KNOTS. Our passage through the South Seas has been interesting, to say the least. In the Indian Ocean we were going at 100%. We raced every mile until the approach to New Zealand. Then you know what happened. The Pacific, though, has been quite hard for me, because I found the conditions just too much, not because I hadn’t ever experienced them before, but because I was more focused on not damaging my knee any further than on the race itself.
I’ve always said that when you reach the Big South at 100% you leave it at 50%. We have left it a bit the worse for wear.
Behind us we leave giant waves, turbulent seas, hours of stress watching the rain shower that’s chasing us (if it brings 40 or 30 knot winds we can carry on with the main sail), it’s like riding motocross with waves coming from every direction… How small the boat feels in these seas and how big it looks when it’s docked in the Barcelona marina! Grey skies, rain, snow, cold… very cold. It always reminds me of a huge fridge my aunt used to have in the supermarket. When you went in, the cold would enter your lungs. Here, when the water temperature is six degrees and you go out on deck, the first breath you take has that same feeling of standing over a big fridge.
This time round, I really wanted to leave this place. I don’t know if I’ll come back. This time, it really did me in… One thing I am sure will happen is that when I’m sitting on the couch at home two weeks after I get back, I won’t be able to stop thinking about the albatrosses, about how they would surf the giant waves, about the stressful moments at 40 knots, about the big SPI, about the boat leaning only the last five metres in the water and about how the adrenaline flows from every pore; the logline reads 25, 26, 27, 28, 26… suddenly, the prow does an incredible dive, you’re practically left without rudders, you hit it hard, the rudders re-engage and you save an incredible luff. Inside, you’re smiling. Your heart’s going like the clappers… the incredible beauty of the mega-waves of cyclone Atu, the one-on-one fight you have with the conditions and the seas down here.
What I do know for sure, because it happens every time, is that one month after being at home, I won’t be able to stop thinking about when I will be back here, how I can prepare myself and the boat better, and so on. Once the Big South has got inside you… it’s very hard to get it out.
JACK SPARROW | THE BLACK PEARL | 52S 59W
A month on top
After five weeks of competition on the world’s oceans, the Estrella Damm has proven itself to be one of the strongest boats in the Barcelona World Race 2011. Between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, the boat race has seen everything, including two withdrawals (Président and Foncia), to all the fleet’s disappointment. However, there have also been memorable competitive moments, many of them led by Alex and Pepe, such as the duels with the Mirabaud before reaching the Equator and more recently with the Groupe Bel. For the moment, their work and effort have paid off.
"The outcome of the first month is very positive", states Alex. The skipper from Barcelona adds, "We’re in contention and I think that Pepe and I have figured out the boat race pretty well. There is a lot ahead of us, so we are sailing while trying to secure the equipment. We’re feeling very comfortable and I’m thrilled to be sailing here, in the Big South".
Meanwhile, Pepe affirms, “If someone had told me before leaving that we’d be in third place while passing Good Hope, I would have been more than satisfied. We’re holding up well and we’re going to try hard to keep up the pace. The boat race is really lively and exciting.”
Estrella Damm leads the Barcelona World Race in the South Atlantic
Almost 20 days after the start of the Barcelona World Race on the 31st December 2010, Alex and Pepe have consolidated their leadership and now face a period of strategy-making in calm seas in the South Atlantic.
Their crossing of the Equator in the top three was cause for celebration, and some Estrella Damm was given as an offering to the god Neptune. After that magical moment came the chance to lead the race, as both of the French boats were forced to stop in Recife (Brazil) for repairs. In this way, the Estrella Damm and its skippers, in top form, took the leading position, which they have been able to defend in unstable conditions on their way down to the gateway of the South Atlantic.
“It’s a dream to be leaders of the Barcelona World Race”, said Pepe Ribes. “But this is just the beginning and we’ll work to the bone to remain first place”, he asserts.
“It’s wonderful to see the fleet in the rear-view mirror”, said Alex Pella from Barcelona. “With such a high ranking of boats and crews, being in the lead is a huge source of pride”, he explained.
BARCELONA WORLD RACE, THE CHALLENGE 90 DAYS, 2 SAILORS AND THE OCEAN
The Barcelona World Race is the toughest challenge facing the Estrella Damm Sailing Team: 90 days of ocean sailing around the world that will push the team to its limits.
On 31 December 2010, the second Barcelona World Race will get under way, one of the toughest nautical competitions in the world, in which the participating teams must cover the 25,000 miles (47,500 kilometres) that span the Earth in approximately three months.
www.barcelonaworldrace.org
ESTRELLA DAMM SAILING TEAM
WORLD RECORD
12 DAYS FROM NEW YORK TO BARCELONA IN A SAILBOAT
Despite being a race against the clock, by leaving New York at the same time, the competition was also a match race across the North Atlantic and Mediterranean.
The two teams faced all sorts of winds, from extremes of up to 40 knots and waves of up to 9 meters in the Azores, where the W Hotel lost any change of winning when its rudder was knocked and broken, to the unpredictable weather of the Mediterranean, where the lack of wind and speed put the crew's nerves to the test.
www.ny-bcn.org
FLESH AND BONE HEROES
ALEX PELLA AND PEPE RIBES FACE THE SEVERITY
OF THE OCEAN TOGETHER
Alex Pella and Pepe Ribes are in charge of sailing Estrella’s IMOCA Open 60 across seas and oceans all over the world in the various competitions in which they are taking part. Training, technique, hours of sailing, but above all an incredible capacity for overcoming boundaries, physical exertion and a great rapport make them a team hard to beat.
“We reached such a level of understanding that sometimes a look is all it takes to know what we mean. We can spend hours without feeling the need to talk”, Pepe Ribes explained, “but if the competition allows, we love to be able to discuss our strategy, both amongst ourselves and with the team on shore".
"Alex and I are used to these conditions, but we suffer a great deal for our loved ones, because we know that from the very moment we leave they live every day worried about what is happening to us”.
www.ny-bcn.org/alexpella
www.ny-bcn.org/peperibes
BIODIVERSITY ON THE SAILS AND HULL OF
ESTRELLA DAMM
CUSTO DALMAU GOES BEYOND THE WORLD OF FASHION TO WORK WITH A
MATERIAL WITH UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS
The renowned designer Custo Dalmau wanted to pay homage to biodiversity by covering the sails with all types of animals, interpreted in his own unique style. Custo has once again conveyed his passion for nature and his commitment to ecology, values that are shared by Estrella Damm and the sailing team, who are in direct contact with nature.
The sails, with a burst of colours printed onto a red background, will be the flag by which the team may be identified throughout the world, in its transoceanic challenges and adventures.
