Of course, I still have very mixed feelings about all that happened to us. Having to abandon a boat is not a good feeling, and not being able to finish the Volvo Ocean Race in ‘Movistar’ makes it even worse. It was, nevertheless, flattering that I was asked by one of the competitors to join them, but wrapping up the Movistar campaign took a lot of time. I had to say no. It has been a rollercoaster event for our team. Many highs and some lows. Like all of the other teams we encountered challenges and probably more than our fair share of misfortune. Where I can question myself is in the area of hydraulic rams, though here I learned a lot. We lost quite a lot of time because the design advice we received told us to go with carbon fibre rams. These arrived nine months late and only two months before the start. We quickly discovered that they did not work. Of the options available to us we elected to take a prudent path and go for the same type of rams as two of the other competitors. Along with these other teams we had difficulties with these but over time found the right solutions.
On a positive note
Let’s look at some good points. ‘Movistar’ was able to give us good speed. One of the main reasons for this was that our sail programme was excellent. Our sails were obviously different from the Team ABN AMRO programme, but as we had a less powerful hull shape our sail shapes had to be different.
The part I am the most proud of was the team. They were excellent sailors who never gave up and who stayed loyal to the programme even when faced with the major setbacks. The fitness level was high and that resulted in no injuries, so we could keep the same group from the start and nobody had to be replaced. The shore team did a good job as well, especially in the last couple of months; we grew together as a very tight unit and we could face anything.
Looking ahead
What we need to do for the future is to make sure that all the yachts finish without any problems. What happened during this race resulted in all the parties involved, from sailors, designers, insurers, and organisers talking to each other and working on solutions.
I believe in the Volvo Ocean Race as the ultimate offshore sailing event, not only for sailors, but also for all the sponsors. So I am looking forward to be back in three year’s time in some sort of role. Cheers.
Bouwe Bekking
Part 1 : From the Cockpit: Grant Wharington
Part 2 : From the Cockpit: Neal McDonald
Part 3 : From the Cockpit: Seb Josse
Part 4 : From the Cockpit: Torben Grael
Part 5 : From the Cockpit: Paul Cayard
Part 6 : From the Cockpit: Mike Sanderson
c643060b-3860-4aa2-b9b9-e2109ae4793dImagePrimaryMovad91321d-23d5-48a9-ae66-8e4570432409images/assets/movistar_screengrab_07.jpgtruemovistar is abandoned in the Atlantic ©movistarmovistar_screengrab_07.jpg.jpg400600©movistarb43d607a-0854-4fdd-bf74-3ab42b57763bimages/assets/movistar_screengrab_07_thumb.jpgfalsemovistar is abandoned in the Atlantic ©movistarmovistar_screengrab_07_thumb.jpg{Width=600, Height=4.jpg67100©movistar7Leg0710ContentImage21Teammovistarmovistar_screengrab_07,movistar is abandoned in the Atlantic ©movistar2006-05-24T13:32:14.36truefalsefalsefalse30c3a6ec-ca67-47e5-a812-07059ba2223dImagePrimaryMov2832d926-bbab-4a8b-8178-26811e2de5f9images/assets/L6finMOV_MS4_6x4.jpgtruemovistar comes into New York in fifth place after a hard-fought battle. ©Martin StockbridgeL6finMOV_MS4_6x4.jpg.jpg400600©Martin Stockbridge8e520a86-c229-49fb-b988-3feaf9537648images/assets/L6finMOV_MS4_6x4_thumb.jpgfalsemovistar comes into New York in fifth place after a hard-fought battle. ©Martin StockbridgeL6finMOV_MS4_6x4_thumb.jpg{Width=600, Height=4.jpg67100©Martin Stockbridge6Leg0610ContentImage21TeammovistarL6finMOV_MS4_6x4,movistar comes into New York in fifth place after a hard-fought battle. ©Martin Stockbridge2006-05-09T16:34:09.19truetruefalsefalse0f022021-0397-4e91-834b-3541a109d5e7ImagePrimaryMov8f9fa13b-56b7-4a7c-9df1-72705e0e410bimages/assets/baltimoreinport_11.jpgtrueWinners of the Baltimore in port race, movistar, celebrate at the prize giving ©Oskar Kihlborgbaltimoreinport_11.jpg.jpg400600©Oskar Kihlborgcd16788b-6ac2-4b7e-bbf7-61077d93f55aimages/assets/baltimoreinport_11_thumb.jpgfalseWinners of the Baltimore in port race, movistar, celebrate at the prize giving ©Oskar Kihlborgbaltimoreinport_11_thumb.jpg{Width=600, Height=4.jpg67100©Oskar Kihlborg5Leg0510ContentImage21Teammovistarbaltimoreinport_11,Winners of the Baltimore in port race, movistar, celebrate at the prize giving ©Oskar Kihlborg2006-05-01T11:27:18.28truetruefalsefalse489a4cbb-9e92-4361-814a-cc132976a159ImagePrimaryMov9da297d8-30d6-4b55-a2bb-8cd2743a48daimages/assets/L5fin_DB09.jpgtrueIn the glow of the setting sun, movistar sails towards the finish line to take second place in Leg 5 into Baltimore. © David BraniganL5fin_DB09.jpg.jpg400600© David Branigan6e8dd1a1-5d1c-4991-b10a-7f7c83bd7f2aimages/assets/L5fin_DB09_thumb.jpgfalseIn the glow of the setting sun, movistar sails towards the finish line to take second place in Leg 5 into Baltimore. © David BraniganL5fin_DB09_thumb.jpg{Width=600, Height=4.jpg67100© David Branigan5Leg0510ContentImage21TeammovistarL5fin_DB09,In the glow of the setting sun, movistar sails towards the finish line to take second place in Leg 5 into Baltimore. © David Branigan2006-04-18T05:12:08.1truetruetruefalseff219705-3def-4648-a027-e60e8d193206ImagePrimaryMov9e28bf09-0551-4b50-87db-6ae17bcc1f37images/assets/5341_600x400.jpgtrueSkipper Bouwe Bekking at the helm of movistar ©Pepe Ribes5341_600x400.jpg.jpg600400©Pepe Ribes42f067cb-c9fb-4b4e-89f4-252d8a183f5aimages/assets/5341_600x400_thumb.jpgfalseSkipper Bouwe Bekking at the helm of movistar ©Pepe Ribes5341_600x400_thumb.jpg{Width=400, Height=6.jpg10067©Pepe Ribes5Leg0510ContentImage21Teammovistar5341_600x400,Skipper Bouwe Bekking at the helm of movistar ©Pepe Ribes2006-04-11T16:38:14.14truetruefalsefalse6aa883eb-ea26-4ac0-87f4-afd206a96652ImagePrimaryMov69a59342-f593-4663-a855-357703ce2c5aimages/assets/4742_600x400.jpgtruemovistar on the dock in Ushuaia © Oskar Kihlborg4742_600x400.jpg.jpg400600© Oskar Kihlborg5f8c9637-3801-41a8-a0c4-f7517e69c6a4images/assets/4742_600x400_thumb.jpgfalsemovistar on the dock in Ushuaia © Oskar Kihlborg4742_600x400_thumb.jpg{Width=600, Height=4.jpg67100© Oskar Kihlborg4Leg0410ContentImage21Teammovistar4742_600x400,movistar on the dock in Ushuaia © Oskar Kihlborg2006-03-06T15:36:53.593truetruefalsefalsee38dd0ca-772a-4871-ad52-169391435fb7ImagePrimaryMovd6e21c16-ddff-412e-bb18-6e28dc416d49images/assets/leg3_finish_oskar_01.jpgtrueMatch racing in Volvo Open 70's - movistar clings on to her slender lead over ABN AMRO ONE ©Oskar Kihlborgleg3_finish_oskar_01.jpg.jpg400600©Oskar Kihlborg1601c09c-2dd0-4528-aa5f-28e40a439640images/assets/leg3_finish_oskar_01_thumb.jpgfalseMatch racing in Volvo Open 70's - movistar clings on to her slender lead over ABN AMRO ONE ©Oskar Kihlborgleg3_finish_oskar_01_thumb.jpg{Width=600, Height=4.jpg67100©Oskar Kihlborg3Leg0310ContentImage16TeamABN AMRO ONE21Teammovistarleg3_finish_oskar_01,Match racing in Volvo Open 70's - movistar clings on to her slender lead over ABN AMRO ONE ©Oskar Kihlborg2006-02-16T13:41:43.59truetruefalsefalse4bbcadac-afcb-4b16-b6af-4dd9459166d7ImagePrimaryMov632aae65-2747-4b03-ae6a-8f12ec61feceimages/assets/VOR3088_4x6 24.jpgtrueAerial view of movistar during leg 2 to Melbourne ©Oskar KihlborgVOR3088_4x6 24.jpg.jpg600400©Oskar Kihlborgbd972544-1b65-4f0b-aa0b-8c8a41056c92images/assets/VOR3088_4x6 24_thumb.jpgfalseAerial view of movistar during leg 2 to Melbourne ©Oskar KihlborgVOR3088_4x6 24_thumb.jpg{Width=400, Height=6.jpg10067©Oskar Kihlborg2Leg0210ContentImage21Teammovistarmovistar, leg 2 VOR3088_4x6 24,Aerial view of movistar during leg 2 to Melbourne ©Oskar Kihlborg2006-01-04T12:08:54.983truetruefalsefalseTo complete our series, Bouwe Bekking tells us his story of movistar and the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-062006-09-15T12:00:00Fri, 15 Sep 2006 12:00:00 UTC