Groupama secures victory in Galway

Groupama skipper Franck Cammas celebrates in Galway.
Picture: IAN ROMAN/Volvo Ocean Race

Upwards of 100,000 people are believed to have turned out at Galway Harbour to welcome the Volvo Ocean Race fleet in.

A little rain, a cool wind and the wrong side of 2am did nothing to deter the crowd lining the dockside. The slightly unpleasant conditions gave the crowd a feeling of solidarity with the sailors who had borne so much adversity over the last three months.

It was Chris Nicolson’s team, Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand, who took the leg 9 win. This was their first leg victory and would put them in a good position against Puma going into the in-port race.

Overall trophy
Groupama finished shortly after Camper to take second place. That result was all they needed to clinch the overall trophy.

A disappointed and frustrated Kenny Read finished third on Puma Ocean Racing. They had been ahead of Camper at the Fastnet Rock. Losing to Camper had dropped them out of a chance of finishing second overall.

As we have seen throughout this race, the media coming off the boats brought the race to life. Leg 9 was no exception.

Live interviews
The 485-nautical mile leg 9 sprint from Lorient to Galway was covered extensively by live interviews with both skippers and navigators.

You could see the tension on board the boats as the close racing came down to the line. All of this has been made possible by Inmarsat’s FleetBroadband 500 enabling the excellent data streaming.

I will cover the future in my next blog, but as one race finishes and the next has been announced in 2014, the thirst from the race fans for interaction will not go away. The next race will be the most connected ever and it will be Inmarsat at the heart of the race again.

The Overall Final standings: 1. Groupama sailing team 253 points; 2. Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand 231; 3. Puma Ocean Racing powered by Berg 226; 4. Team Telefónica 213; 5. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing 131; 6. Team Sanya 51

In-Port Series Final standings: 1. Puma Ocean Racing powered by Berg 45 points; 2. Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand 44; 3. Groupama sailing team 41; 4. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing 37; 5. Team Telefónica 27; 6. Team Sanya 16

Mark Covell

So much live coverage

Puma rounding the Fastnet Rock

Ian Roman/ Volvo Ocean Race

Live, now, instantaneous, straightaway, immediate.

No, I haven't just swallowed a thesaurus or am trying to design a crossword, I'm sitting here in Galway connected to the web, being inundated by the amount of live footage and content coming from the fleet and its every move.

We are witnessing the last leg of the 2011-2012 Volvo Ocean Race. It's so short the teams are treating this as a mad dash sprint.

No sleep
Puma's Amory Ross wrote in his last blog: "Sleep has not been a component of Leg 9 thus far. So here we are... last full day of the Volvo Ocean Race with close sailing, rough weather, short duration, and high intensity.

"With the top four positions still to be determined, each point remains crucial. Consequently, this leg's 30 points are valuable enough to make all of us spend the last night sitting (or lying) on the rail.

"That would be OK if we were passing the Bahamas or Fiji, but we're close-reaching through the English Channel in 25 knots of wind, rain squalls, and shivering-cold temperatures. It's just another lovely July day on the way to the Irish Sea. Ugh! One final bashing for us and the old girl."

See the action
So that's a view from Amory's laptop, so now for the list of ways you can see the action.

As well as the usual social media networks - Twitter and Facebook etc - live streaming footage is being hosted here with interviews, still images and video conferencing, all being updated as it happens. See http://new.livestream.com/volvooceanrace

As well as the live crosses to the MCMs, Volvo has a helicopter flying over the Fastnet Rock, off the south coast of Ireland. The fleet has just gone around it in daylight.

Famous rock
I tuned in to see and hear Volvo's Rick Deppe speak to Mike Sanderson, the skipper of Team Sanya. In mid chat the camera panned round to reveal the famous rock and lighthouse that so many sailors have raced round before.

When this race is over and a "thank you" has gone out to all the teams and staff, one of the biggest must go to the team at Inmarsat for bringing this race to life!

When I set out to cover the race I truly didn't know how much Inmarsat has been at the heart of the race.

Something like 90% of all the footage has been channeled through their network and equipment. Impressive!

Puma in the lead
The fleet is due in tonight at 03:00 UTC, with Puma in the lead (at the moment…). Volvo is bringing you regular live video calls off the boats, rolling-text updates and live race tracking.

Here's the schedule for live calls, which will be broadcast at www.volvooceanrace.com and www.livestream.com/volvooceanrace:

Monday July 2:

1800 UTC - Puma
1830 UTC - Abu Dhabi
1900 UTC - Telefónica
1930 UTC - Camper
2000 UTC - Sanya
2030 UTC - Groupama

Mark Covell

Any of the four top boats could win

Hamish Hooper won the Inmarsat MCM award for leg 8

(Credit: IAN ROMAN/Volvo Ocean Race)

This is a quick blog from me as I am packing to go out to Galway, ready to receive the fleet from France on the last leg of the race.

It will be such a sprint that Volvo is planning to cover it almost live. We still have the penultimate in-port race tomorrow that could potentially seal the deal for Frank Cammas and his Groupama team.

Everyone I have spoken to want them to have a difficult day, just so that the race stays open into the last offshore leg. It’s still mathematically possible for any of the top four boats to win this race.

Closest race
If there is one thing we have learned from this race, it is that anything can happen. Don’t rule out the unthinkable. There has never been a closer race finish in race history.

There are a lot more trophies to win. Hamish Hooper, Amory Ross and Yann Riou are all close for the overall win for the Inmarsat Media Award.

Hooper received the award for his outstanding overall multimedia output during a stormy Leg 8.  And in particular some breathtaking footage of skipper Chris Nicholson being washed from the wheel by a wall of water.


Recent video
The judges noted two outstanding pieces of recent video from Hooper, who clocked up enormous numbers of YouTube views with footage of Chuny Bermúdez dodging a whale and skipper Chris Nicholson being washed off the wheel.



Hooper, who had previously won two MCM leg awards, saw off competition from fellow nominees Groupama sailing team’s Yann Riou and Puma Ocean Racing powered by Berg's Amory Ross to claim the Leg 8 accolade.

Tune into the in-port race this Saturday and then the leg start on Sunday. It’s all live and if you believe the forecast it’s going to be a windy one.

Mark Covell

How the balance of the competition has changed

Telefónica’s skipper Iker Martinezat the finish of leg 7

(Credit: IAN ROMAN/Volvo Ocean Race)

With only one more leg to race, teams have started to look back at their mistakes and highlights. Would have, should have, could have?

Racing is about good preparation and the ability to learn from others as the competition evolves. 

Ideally you want to be the fastest boat going into the event, but more importantly to win the Volvo Ocean Race you have to be the fastest boat by the end of the event. 

Full potential

Telefónica has learned this lesson all too well. They dominated the early stages of the race, winning the opening three offshore legs and the In-Port Race in Cape Town. In contrast, the last boat to sail into Cape Town was Groupama with a lot to learn in a very short time.

Skipper of Telefónica Iker Martinez said the closeness of the competition had built leg by leg as the teams learned more and more about their boats, and how to sail them at their optimum performance.

“At the regatta’s halfway point all the boats reach their full potential,” he said. “At the start, we all have to learn about our boats and although each team prepares as much as they can, some have less time than others, so there are usually a lot of differences.

Best improver

“But at the halfway point, after so much time spent competing against each other, everyone has had the chance to learn about their boat and how to get the most out of it.

“We all learn from each other too, and so it always happens that around the middle of the regatta that it becomes very even.”

If there was a ‘Best Improver’ prize then Frank Cammas and his Groupama team would win it. They are overall leaders with 219 points on the board 23 points ahead of the next boat. 

Bouncing back

For sheer tenacity and ‘never say die’ attitude then Puma Ocean Racing must get a mention for slowly picking off the points to sit second overall, just five points ahead of Camper and Telefónica - tied on 191 points.

All the teams have suffered major damage that they’ve had to overcome. 

Bouncing back from a setback is the other trait that has shaped this edition of the race.  Some have done better then others.

Losing sleep

So, with one last offshore leg to race and more than its fair share of potential pitfalls and issues, Leg 9 can still upset the apple cart and with so much live streaming action to watch, I know a few race fans who will be getting less sleep than the sailors.

Saturday 30 June - Lorient In-Port Race

Sunday 1 July - Leg 9 Start - Lorient to Galway

Mark Covell

Groupama romps home to a French victory



Race leaders Groupama take first place on leg eight.
Photo: Paul Todd/Volvo Ocean Race

There is nothing more inspirational than a home finish win to sharpen a team’s focus.

As I write this blog I am watching the live finish of leg eight and Groupama romping home to a French victory in Lorient.

Frank Cammas and his team have simply improved with every leg after the tactical blunder of leg one (when they took a flyer that didn’t pay off), which seems so long ago.

Lost time
The live pictures coming from Lorient are fantastic. The French spectators are making up for lost time after their absence from the Volvo Ocean Race for so long. Listening to the French commentator going mad with excitement, I don’t think they will be leaving the race again for a long time.

The excitement and connection the fans have made with this race has been boosted by the amount of high-quality live footage coming off the boats - the highlight being the streaming video interviews held with the skippers and crew all via the Inmarsat FleetBroadband 500 onboard.

Streamed live
In this last leg Volvo up’d its game by inviting five journalists to ask questions to five different boats and streamed the whole interview on its website, live. It was a huge success and all went smoothly.

During this race I have written many times about all the practical capabilities that Inmarsat’s satellite connectivity provides. From telemedicine, weather data, position reporting, logistics, safety and media reporting, it has been the latter that has shone the brightest.

The Volvo Ocean Race teamed up with a new company pioneering immediate media, aptly called Livestream.

Technology developed
It has developed technology to transmit stills and video live to a web page. Many other media companies do, or try to do, the same thing, but none do it as well as Livestream. The work they do on land is transmitted using a 3G or 4G network, but at sea Inmarsat provides the connectivity.

Appetites have been whetted, and the need for high-quality live media is only getting stronger. Inmarsat will be there again, at the heart of the race. Maybe they will be at the heart of even more races and events as fans and media realise the potential.

So as the fleet come into Lorient - 1st Groupama, 2nd Camper, 3rd Puma ,4th Abu Dhabi, 5th Telefonica and finally Sanya - the last leg is looking like a make or break for the French.

I look forward to bringing you the action, hopefully live!

Mark Covell

Close-fought in-port race adds to Groupama's lead

Groupama won  the Lisbon in-port race gaining six points

Photo: Paul Todd/Volvo Ocean Race

I can't believe we are into the penultimate leg already, with only three more point-scoring opportunities left. 

The Lisbon in-port race did not disappoint the race fans for supplying plenty of action-packed drama, place changes and protests.

The writing was on the wall at the skippers' press conference.

Avoid mistakes

The skippers were asked: "what was their race plan of action, attack or defence?"

Chris Nicolson from Camper said "stay out of trouble"  while Kenny Read said "watch out for pitfalls".

Frank Cammas replied "avoid mistakes and sail a clean race" and Ika Martiness from Telefónica said "attack".

Penalty turn

They all did what they had promised.

Camper and Groupama got a clean start and headed down the track, leaving Telefónica attacking Puma.

Kenny Read’s match-racing experience gave him the upper hand leaving Telefónica reeling on the line with a 360 degree penalty turn to perform, dashing all hopes of a result in Lisbon.

Fantastic racecourse 

The natural amphitheatre of the Tagus River beside the beautiful city of Lisbon provided a fantastic racecourse pushing the fleet together again and again due to the close river banks as they gybed down the track in 15-20 knots of wind.

The lead changed a few times before Groupama stretched away to take the win and add another six points to her overall lead.

The in-port results were: 1st Groupama, 2nd Puma, 3rd Camper, 4th Abu Dhabi, 5th Sanya, 6th Telefónica.

My next blog will tell the story of how the world's media is lapping up the live streaming content coming off the boats. 

Lisbon in-port race will be like a naval battle

Camper during the practice race in Lisbon
Photo: Ian Roman/Volvo Ocean Race

I have just climbed out of a hot and humid commentary booth, having covered the Pro-Am race with TV NZ’s Martin Tasker.

The city of Lisbon is putting on a wonderful display. The sun was shining, the wind was up and the crowds poured into the race village to see the action just off the end of the dock.

Today’s racing was just for fun and the bragging rights of the lucky guests and sponsors who got to sail on board.

Naval battle
Tomorrow, Lisbon will host the real deal. The Oeiras in-port race will start at 1300 local (1200 UTC). With only 21 points separating the top four boats, the one-hour race will be more like a naval battle then a sailboat race.

The forecasted conditions look good for aggressive combat, with the 12-15 knot WSW wind blowing across Lisbon’s Tagus River. The river’s current will also come into play.

Today we saw a current of more than two knots sweeping up the estuary. The course will consist of some short windward leeward legs, with lots of boat manoeuvres, and then a longer dash up the river towards the city.

Keeping cool
Tonight the teams will be discussing their tactics. The mood that they race in will play a big part at the start. Hanging back and keeping cool may result in missed opportunities. Charging in, all guns firing, could result in forced errors.

Telephonica have lost two in-port races by sailing the wrong course in Atajai and also hitting a mark in Miami.

With only three in-ports left the race for the overall king is even closer then the race itself. Puma, Camper and Abu Dhabi are all tied for the lead on 30 points each.

I will be donning headphones and microphone again for tomorrow’s race, but this time from a camera boat out on the water. I join the commentary team who are also keen to have my insight on the role of the MCM and how the Inmarsat communications work onboard.

Tune in on the web to watch and hear the race live on http://volvooceanrace.com/en/home.html

Mark Covell