Offshore Racing
Fernando was given the opportunity of racing keeled boats at the Royal Sailing Club Sanxenxo where his reputation as a dinghy sailor in the early 90s was growing. It didn't take him long to shine among fellow competitors from the competitive Galicia's fleet winning numerous events. However, it was the pursuit of a career in the olympics what minimized his apparitions in IMS sailing. It was after he signed for the Movistar sailing team that he got again in the IMS mediterranean circuit winning numerous events including Copa del Rey, European and world's titles. In 2006, the Movistar Volvo Ocean Race team included him in the crew to race the Rio de Janeiro-Baltimore, Baltimore-New York-Plymouth legs. Sadly, drama hit the New York-Plymouth stage due to structural damage in the keel system of the Movistar VOR70 that forced the crew to abandon ship when battling a North Atlantic storm. It was the courageous crew of ABN AMRO 2 who saved them from an uncertain fate in what may have been one of the most emotional moments in offshore sailing ever.
In 2008, Fernando was named skipper of one of the two Spanish entries in the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009, Telefónica Black. The ten leg race started in Alicante Spain on October 4 with an inshore race, followed by the first leg from Alicante to Cape Town South Africa. Telefónica suffered structural damage to the rudder and finished the first leg in last place. In Leg 4, Telefónica Black experienced very rough headwinds and waves and a crack developed on the port side of the boat. Fernando wisely withdrew from that leg and took refuge in the Philippines. The boat was later sent to Singapore and has been shipped to Rio de Janeiro for the start of Leg 6. The final legs of the Volvo Ocean Race saw a highly competitive Telefónica Black winning the final leg in the Baltic Sea from Stockholm to Saint Petersburg.
- Volvo Round the World Ocean Race
- 2006 (crew) Movistar: Sank
- 2008-09 (skipper) Telefónica Black: Overall Standing 6th of 8 boats.
Read more about this topic: Fernando Echavarri
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—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)