What better way to get people who know nothing about sailing to pay attention for a few moments than to get a footballer or two for a photo shoot? Spanish striker Fernando Torres visited the Volvo Ocean Race in Alicante and confirmed that footballers don’t really have it in them to do what the sailors in the VOR do.
The multi-million pound Chelsea forward admitted one leg of the world’s toughest crewed yacht race would be enough after seeing the cramped conditions down below on cutting edge Volvo Open 70 race boat CAMPER.
Torres said:
“To sail on these boats would be a great experience but I think when I got to Cape Town I would be on the first plane home. It’s amazing to see how they have to survive without anything inside the boat. I was talking with one of the sailors and he told me they do it because they love it, just like we play football because we love it.
Torres was joined at the Alicante Race Village by his Spanish team mates including Xavi and David Villa of Barcelona and Real Madrid’s Iker Casillas ahead of their European Championship qualifier against Scotland.
The visit was a welcome boost for the CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand crew who are one of six teams contesting the race, along with Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, Groupama sailing team, PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG Propulsion, Team Sanya and Team Telefónica. All are in the final stages of preparing for the round the world race starting with the first in-port race on October 29.
CAMPER skipper Chris Nicholson said:
“It was great to have the footballers on board. Five or six of them came down below and they were really interested. These guys are superstars and it was fantastic to be able to show them round CAMPER.”
Yesterday the Volvo Ocean Race played host to a press conference with coach Vicente del Bosque, who masterminded Spain’s World Cup triumph in South Africa last year, and players Sergio Ramos, Jordi Alba and Thiago Alcantara.
