Volvo Ocean Race - MAPFRE presented to HM King Juan Carlos

by MAPFRE - Volvo Ocean Race on 8 Sep 2017 The complete MAPFRE team have been presented today at the Real Club Náutico in Sanxenxo, the team’s training base, in the presence of His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain, the team’s CEO Pedro Campos, and MAPFRE CEO, Antonio Huertas.

At 12.00h local time His Majesty King Juan Carlos, accompanied by his daughter the Infanta Elena, arrived at the Spanish Yacht Club, where the Chairman and Vicechairman of MAPFRE, Antonio Huertas and Antonio Núñez respectively, were waiting to greet them. The Secretary of State for Sport, José Ramón Lete; the Regional Government, the Xunta de Galicia’s Secretary of Sport Marta Míguez; the Mayor of Sanxenxo, Telmo Martín; the CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race, Mark Turner; Helly Hansen's CEO, Paul Stoneham; and the Chairman of Volvo Spain, Germán López were also present, along with a great number of the public to support the Spanish team, skippered by world-class sailor Xabi Fernández.

The MAPFRE skipper was joined on the stage by the ten other crew members, who will make up the team, and perfectly combine talent, youth and experience, with a total of 21 round the world races, five Olympic medals, and three America’s Cup victories among them, and includes the first Spanish woman in history to compete in the race, Olympic champion Támara Echegoyen. Also New Zealand's Blair Tuke, who will try to become the first sailor in history to win the 'Triple Crown' of an Olympic gold medal, the America's Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race.

A further surprise is the under-30 crew member, Louis Sinclair from New Zealand, who has also joined the team. Louis was previously a grinder with Oracle Team USA for the 35th America's Cup in Bermuda.

Alicante will see the start of the nine-month race around the world, the thirteenth edition of the competition and a huge adventure; this time stopping in 12 countries and all five continents, as well as returning to the event’s authentic roots with a triple pass through the Southern Ocean.

Xabi Fernández, skipper:
'Leg Zero and all the training sessions we have had to date are proving that we have been preparing well. If it was up to us, we would all start racing tomorrow but we still have a month and a half to go, and it is a long competition. We hope it will go well.

'Now we have a marathon up until the start. We have one more week of training in Sanxenxo with the Chinese team, Dongfeng. On 16th we will be taking the boat to Lisbon, where all the VO65s have to go for the last checks, to make sure that all the boats are the same, and nobody has broken any rules. We will head to Alicante in the first week of October and will arrive on the 12th. It will be our last week of training, with the ProAm races, the coastal race and on the 22nd October the race start.

Pedro Campos, Spanish team's CEO
'In the last edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, we experienced some great success and some difficult situations, but our team has never let their guard down in the face of success, nor given up in the face of difficulty. Our main aim is to finish the round the world race, and finish ahead of our rivals. Rivals, but also friends, because in offshore sailing, solidarity is an essential value.

'As we are a humble team, I also have to acknowledge having spoken with Xabi, that there is always the possibility that we wont win, but there is absolutely no doubt that we will fight extremely hard flying the Spanish flag and in the name of MAPFRE.'


Antonio Huertas, MAPFRE's CEO
I would like to thank the whole team, both the sailing and shore crew, for their absolute dedication to making this project a success. It is a huge pride for MAPFRE to once again be on the start line of one of the most demanding competitions in world sport, the Volvo Ocean Race.

We are extremely excited with the team, which since the last edition of the race has been slowly taking shape, with committed great professionals on board in the Project, and who will take the MAPFRE name around the world. All the members of the team share our values as a company, team work, effort and dedication, personal drive, team spirit and trust, making all employees feel that the team is really ours.

MAPFRE CREW
1. Xabi Fernández (ESP). Skipper
2. Joan Vila (ESP). Navigator
3. Pablo Arrarte (ESP). Watch Captain
4. Rob Greenhalgh (GBR). Watch Captain
5. Ñeti Cuervas-Mons (ESP). Bowman and boat captain
6. Támara Echegoyen (ESP). Trimmer
7. Sophie Ciszek (USA/AUS). Bowman
8. Willy Altadill (ESP) Under 30 crew. Trimmer/helmsman
9. Blair Tuke (NZL) Under 30 crew.Trimmer/helmsman
10. Neal McDonald (GBR), Performance manager and helmsman (reserve)
11. Louis Sinclair (NZL),Under 30 crew.Trimmer/bowman (reserve)