Portuguese Mayor throws town’s support behind Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing

by Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing on 22 May 2014 Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015 - Cascais, Portugal, May 22nd: Carlos Carreiras, the mayor of Cascais – the Portuguese town which is currently the training base of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (ADOR), 2014-2015 Volvo Ocean Race – recently toured the team’s Azzam Volvo Ocean 65 yacht and pledged his town’s support for the UAE entry.

With ADOR using Cascais for its training base ahead of the 2011/2012 race, Mayor Carreiras said the town’s people were thrilled that the team chose to return to their home and would be rooting for ADOR when the race begins from Alicante, Spain this October.

'Azzam’s brightly coloured sails on the bay have become a familiar part of the Cascais landscape,' Mayor Carreiras said. 'When you take on the world’s oceans again you will take the good wishes of the Cascais people along with you. We will be following you all the way around the world.'

ADOR skipper Ian Walker and Emirati trimmer and helmsman Adil Khalid gave Mayor Carreiras a guided tour of the team’s facilities at the Marina de Cascais before showing him around Azzam.

Walker said the decision to return to Cascais had been an easy one and that the friendly and accommodating welcome the team had received since it arrived in early March had confirmed that choice.

'We come to Cascais for two reasons,' Walker said. 'Firstly, because Cascais has ideal sailing conditions for a team training for the Volvo Ocean Race. We are able to start training the moment we leave the marina and that saves us lots of valuable time each day.

'The other reason we came back here is the warmth of the welcome we knew we would receive. The people and businesses here could not have been more helpful and we haven’t lacked for anything since we arrived.'

The forthcoming edition of the 39,000 mile race will be in identical boats, meaning the team which learns how to sail the new design quickest will have the advantage come race time.

'It’s all going to be about who can understand their boats best,' Walker explained, 'That means hours and hours of testing different sail combinations and boat setups and Cascais is the perfect place to do that effectively.'

Mayor Carreiras listened intently as Walker and Khalid explained the Abu Dhabi yacht’s new features and even tried his hand at grinding on Azzam’s three pedestal winches.

'Even tied to the dock it’s a lot of work,' the Mayor said afterwards. 'I can’t even imagine what it must be like to do this on the open ocean.'

ADOR’s training period in Cascais will end in June when the sailing crew will leave on a 3,000 mile training run across the Atlantic to Newport, Rhode Island in the USA.

When they return to Portugal it will be to nearby Lisbon in 12 months time at the end of the seventh race leg from Newport. In the last race Walker’s team sailed a brilliant leg to be first into Lisbon.

Mayor Carreiras said he is confident that next year a large Cascais contingent would be waiting to welcome the crew back to Portugal in first place again.

'Watching you win the seventh leg of the last race was thrilling and I hope you will do that again,' he said. 'This time though you have to go one better and win the whole race. Good luck and fair winds – all of Cascais is behind Volvo Ocean Race