"TelefonicMovistar"
The new class for the Volvo Ocean Race, which starts at the beginning of November, already promises sensational sport. The Spanish Volvo 70 "TelefonicMovistar" broke the 24-hour record for monohulls during a training trip from New Zealand to Brazil.
The Farr design managed 530 nautical miles in this period, which corresponds to a grandiose cut of 22.08 knots. This fell the record of the English "Mari-ChIV", which laid 525.7 nautical miles in its wake in October 2003. At 140 feet, "Mari-Cha" is twice as long and had 24 people on board, while "TelefonicMovistar" was only occupied by 10 people.
With this performance, the new Volvo class meets the expectations placed on it. The last race was sailed with Volvo 60 types. The overall victorious "illbruck" set the record in October 2002 with 484 nautical miles.
"TelefonicMovistar" is a tilting keeler with plug-in swords and is tipped by Bouwe Bekking. The Whitbread and Volvo veteran, who began his professional career as a boatman on the Hamburg "Rubin", led the Spanish King Juan Carlos' "Bribon" and can look back on numerous victories.
The Volvo Ocean Race starts in the home port of Sanxenxo (Galicia) of the new record holder and leads around the world in nine stages.