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© Nico Martinez / Barcelona World Race

There are still three competitors racing in this second edition of the Barcelona World Race. For the crew of Hugo Boss as for the men on Forum Maritim Catala, it will soon be over, while the final boat, We Are Water has just entered the North Atlantic. Now is however a good time to draw up an initial assessment of the race with many boats home and crews having given their reactions.
 
Already six boats have moored up in the harbour in Barcelona, with the sailors stepping ashore after a very exciting round the world race. They have already been through the race over and over again over a glass or two with their rivals, shore teams and with those involved in this second edition of the Barcelona World Race.
 
What double-handed sailing entails
We already believed it to be the case but this second edition of the Barcelona World Race only goes to confirm this belief: sailing double-handed is a very different exercise from solo sailing. On the negative side, it means having to be extremely close to someone within the confines of this small carbon universe, where everything gets wet and there is permanent noise. On the positive side, there is the enjoyment of the close relationship that is esablished between two competitive sailors. The risks are lower than those associated with solo sailing although you need to appreciate the limits the material can take. They all agree that when sailing double-handed you push the boat harder and for longer. When sailing solo the skipper must grab some rest and ease off, while when sailing double-handed each member of the crew knows that he is able to get some real rest at times. So, it is true that you get much closer to the limits of the boat.
Sailing double-handed also can reveal some talents. While for some, sailing with someone else is just another experience as they may have been friends for a long time (e.g Iker Martinez and Xabi Fernandez or Pepe Ribes and Alex Pella), for others, the Barcelona World Race was a revelation. Some understood during this double-handed adventure that they were not really cut out for solo sailing. For others, this race was an encouragement in their desire to be there at the start of the next Vendée Globe. This was the case for Sébastien Audigane, Boris Herrmann and Alex Pella, with the latter hoping to become the first Spaniard able to compete alongside the leaders in 2012.
 
Sport and adventure
The ability to carry out a pit stop during the Barcelona World Race to take care of major repairs modifies the situation considerably. Without this possibility, it is clear that the crew of Virbac-Paprec 3 may not have been able to win the race and would in any case have finished with a seriously damaged boat. Jean-Pierre Dick and Loïck Peyron’s stopover in Recife first of all and then in Wellington enabled them to deal with some of the teething problems and to set off again with a boat that was in perfect condition. The adventure aspect of the Vendée Globe is replaced here with increased sporting interest. We saw in particular how the stopover in Wellington relaunched the race, when the two Spaniards on Mapfre decided not to stop and were there snapping at the leaders’ heels.  The fact that it is possible to stop means there is a greater likelihood of completing the race. This is encouraging for partners, who are at ths same time able to enjoy an exciting adventure through their sponsorship.
 
An idea configuration
The IMOCA calendar is becoming well established and the idea of having a round the world race every other year now appears to be the norm for the skippers. Two years is in fact qan ideal time frame to test modifications, take advantage of the lessons that have been learnt from one round the world race and get the boat in shape or aim for the adventure of a new project. The Barcelona World Race appears therefore to fit in perfectly with the Vendée Globe, even if there are some important differences betwen the two events.
 
A truly international line-up
The biggest achievement in this Barcelona World Race was probably to have opened the gates to further internationalisation. Up until now, solo racing has very much been the area where the French and a few British sailors excel. The arrival of the Spanish and their ability to rival the top projects has really changed the situation considerably. Three Spanish crews in the first four means that things are going to become very different from now on and the enthusiasm seen in Spain around this event shows that this is just the start. This was one of the goals of the IMOCA , who wanted to avoid getting bogged down with the same familiar faces of solo and short-handed racing. From this perspective, this has been a total success: competitive crews, a new way of looking at things, a genuine melting-pot bringing together the French, Spanish and British offering a new vision of offshore racing thanks to what we have seen over the past three months in the winter of 2011. The movement that has begun with this Barcelona World Race should lead to others, in particular in the Europa Race with a stopover in Hamburg, which will be an opportinity to congratulate Boris Herrmann on his performance alongside Ryan Breymaier. This is another example of the internationalisation, which may well mean we will see several Spanish sailors in the 2012 Vendée Globe.