With just 244 days to go until the Volvo Ocean Race fleet departs for another lap of the planet, here’s a sneak peek at what another one of the boats will look like.
MAPFRE, who will race for a second consecutive edition and announced last week that two-time Olympic medallist Xabi Fernández will skipper their campaign, can look forward to a re-fitted boat which looks better than ever, for the 2017-18 edition.
“It’s a proud moment. This is the first day of these 8 months – the first milestone in the project,” said Gonzalez Fernández de Velasco, who is part of the shore team for the Spanish campaign.
“On Thursday we’ll put the keel on, first thing in the morning, because we expect a lot of wind. At the beginning of March we start sailing, then we go to Sanxenxo and start to train hard. This time, let’s hope it’s a winning project. We’ll be going all out against everyone – so they should watch out! Let’s go, MAPFRE!”
