The Englishman Ian Walker again will be skipper of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s boat, Azzam. He is writing a monthly message for The National leading up to the race.
Over the past 10 days we have had the first of our planned maintenance breaks for our yacht Azzam. We have now sailed 7,000 miles so it is time for Azzam to take a well-deserved rest.
A 65-foot carbon fibre ocean going race yacht like Azzam needs a lot of looking after, particularly if you intend to push them hard in tough weather conditions without any failures.
These maintenance periods are crucial for catching up on planned jobs and regular routine maintenance. Every boat has a job list and it is the job of our shore manager, Guy Barron, to log all the sailors’ job requests and dovetail these with all the routine maintenance work that has to be carried out.
Guy is a veteran of the Volvo Ocean Race and America’s Cup and has project managed several new race yacht builds. He has forgotten more about race yachts than most people will ever know and I trust his judgment on all things technical.
These maintenance slots are when he can really get his teeth into things without the pressure of the sailors wanting to take Azzam sailing every day. Guy has a six-man team working full-time for him, including a boatbuilder, a rigger, a sailmaker and an engineer.
Sailors get very precious about their boats and none more so than us with Azzam. She is more than just a Volvo 65 to us, as she carries the hopes and expectations of our team, our supporters and a whole nation – and she is also our home for most of the next year.
We will be relying on her to keep us safe in some of the wildest, most remote oceans so we need to make sure she is maintained to perfection and every shore team member fully understands that the quality of their work and the minutest attention to detail could make the difference between winning and losing – that is how crucial these guys are.
During this maintenance slot we have replaced all the standing rigging, serviced the mast, the winches, the critical water maker, the engine and all the deck gear. The underwater paint has been touched up and some allowable modifications made inside Azzam.
All of the sails have been serviced by our sailmaker, prior to two long transatlantic trips – to Rhode Island and back this June and early July. We will be there in time for Independence Day.
Everyone on the team knows that any gear failure at this stage could badly derail our final race preparations. That is why everything on Azzam has been checked and checked again and every piece of work has been fully documented for future reference.
Our goal, come race time, is that the crews never have to slow down because of a breakage or issue with the boat. Even throttling back for 30 minutes to make a repair could make the difference between winning and losing a race leg. Remember that in the last race we won the 11-day seventh leg from Miami to Lisbon by a mere four minutes.
As well as maintaining Azzam, another big task for the shore team is preparing for the race. We need to have two identical shore bases ready to go so that they can be shipped from one stopover to the next.
We have to have two of everything as the fleet is too fast to just ship our equipment from one stopover to the next. Instead, the shore bases leapfrog each other to get there ahead of the yachts. This means we need two sail lofts plus materials, four workshop containers, two support motor boats, two sets of spares, two full sets of tools, and so on.
When so much was being done by the shore crew I felt guilty taking a few days off, but soon it will be the sailors turn to put in the hours and it will be the shore team that take a well-deserved rest.
After an excellent few days in Abu Dhabi, where I found time for a quick sail with some media on home waters thanks to the Abu Dhabi Sailing and Yacht Club, and caught up on the exciting plans for the Christmas and New Year festivities at the Abu Dhabi stopover, I was also able to spend some time at home in England with my wife and two daughters.
I have just said my goodbyes and am now on my way back to Portugal to rejoin the team.
We have the two transatlantic crossings ahead of us and then we will be in the UK for Cowes Week and the Round Britain and Ireland Race in August. It is never easy saying goodbye to my girls but it was particularly hard this time as I will be missing my eldest daughter Zoe’s birthday – again.
Next year her birthday will be four days after the end of the race and I have promised her faithfully that I will be home. It is going to be a very busy year.
sports@thenational.ae
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Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Know your camel milk:
Flavour: Similar to goat’s milk, although less pungent. Vaguely sweet with a subtle, salty aftertaste.
Texture: Smooth and creamy, with a slightly thinner consistency than cow’s milk.
Use it: In your morning coffee, to add flavour to homemade ice cream and milk-heavy desserts, smoothies, spiced camel-milk hot chocolate.
Goes well with: chocolate and caramel, saffron, cardamom and cloves. Also works well with honey and dates.
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
All about the Sevens
Cape Town Sevens on Saturday and Sunday: Pools A – South Africa, Kenya, France, Russia; B – New Zealand, Australia, Spain, United States; C – England, Scotland, Argentina, Uganda; D – Fiji, Samoa, Canada, Wales
HSBC World Sevens Series standing after first leg in Dubai 1 South Africa; 2 New Zealand; 3 England; 4 Fiji; 5 Australia; 6 Samoa; 7 Kenya; 8 Scotland; 9 France; 10 Spain; 11 Argentina; 12 Canada; 13 Wales; 14 Uganda; 15 United States; 16 Russia
Brief scores:
QPR 0
Watford 1
Capoue 45' 1
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
If you go:
The flights: Etihad, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin all fly from the UAE to London from Dh2,700 return, including taxes
The tours: The Tour for Muggles usually runs several times a day, lasts about two-and-a-half hours and costs £14 (Dh67)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on now at the Palace Theatre. Tickets need booking significantly in advance
Entrance to the Harry Potter exhibition at the House of MinaLima is free
The hotel: The grand, 1909-built Strand Palace Hotel is in a handy location near the Theatre District and several of the key Harry Potter filming and inspiration sites. The family rooms are spacious, with sofa beds that can accommodate children, and wooden shutters that keep out the light at night. Rooms cost from £170 (Dh808).
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THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
Hamilton profile
Age 32
Country United Kingdom
Grands Prix entered 198
Pole positions 67
Wins 57
Podiums 110
Points 2,423
World Championships 3
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Results:
First Test: New Zealand 30 British & Irish Lions 15
Second Test: New Zealand 21 British & Irish Lions 24
Third Test: New Zealand 15 British & Irish Lions 15
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
