Another of the worst-kept secrets in sailing went public this morning, with Spain’s Pedro Campos proving to be the ultimate masochist in the Volvo Ocean Race; 4 consecutive races and 4 consecutive disappointments…will number 5 be the one? With Iker and Xavi signed up under Campos’ generally strong management team, you know they are instant contenders. But they’ve given a hell of a head start to the rest of the fleet…
Spain’s representation was never in doubt, but it’s good to know that Alicante will have a million visitors rather than half a million; let’s just hope Spain’s Volvo team is better than their futbol squad…
We’re told the final announcement will drop in days, and that the final entry is a Dutch semi-pro team. Mean Machine? Some Tonnerre money with a Delta Lloyd kicker? We have NO idea, but it’s fun to speculate – and the best place to do so is right over here in aisle 6.
UPDATE: Now we’re hearing that Chris Nicholson is the call with a private entry. Could it be the Russian owner of Skyy Vodka, who got to know Nicho during the last Volvo and as a major sponsor of the ETNZ Cup effort? Or maybe Nicho got occasional employer/owner and private army gazillionaire Tony Buckingham involved as a backer? We think Russia sounds most likely, but there’s a lot of risk and weirdness associated with it.
