Volvo Ocean Race: Vestas recruits veteran for Leg 2

Roberto Bermúdez de Castro Muñoz

(November 3, 2017) – Spanish sailor Roberto Bermúdez de Castro Muñoz (aka Chuny) joins Vestas 11th Hour Racing crew for Leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race.

The six-time Volvo Ocean Race veteran – most recently as winner with Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing in the 2014-15 edition – will serve as the substitute for Phil Harmer who is still recovering from a back injury.

“Chuny’s Volvo Ocean Race experience is exceptional. We said from the beginning that we want to surround ourselves with good people and have a team with more experience,” said skipper, Charlie Enright. “It was great that Damian [Foxall] could jump in on the last leg and he will continue to be one of our spare sailors along with other his shoreside responsibilities, among them being our Sustainability Manager.”

Chuny, who had previously been associated with competitor Team AkzoNobel, adds expertise to a team already deep with talent, the now 12-person crew can count 29 Volvo Ocean Races, and eight wins to the among the roster. As the winner of the last leg, Vestas 11th Hour Racing has a 2-point lead with 8 points, but know it’s a long race to go.

“Choosing to bring on Chuny was a long-term decision to add more depth to the program and keep our crew fresh,” said Mark Towill, Team Director. “There are still 45,000 miles to go, and we know we will need to be a peak performance get through all the next ten legs.”

“It was great to get the call from Charlie and Mark. I love this race, and glad I can be part of it again with a group of hard-working men and women,” said Chuny.

Jena Hansen, the young Danish sailor, and Olympic Bronze Medalist will also rejoin the crew for Leg 2.

The Volvo Ocean Race Leg 2 begins on Sunday, November 5 at 1400 UTC in Lisbon, Spain. The seven teams will race to 7,000 miles to Cape Town, South Africa and expected to take 21 days.

Crew List for Leg 2:
Charlie Enright – USA – Skipper
Mark Towill – USA
Simon Fisher – UK – Navigator
Stacey Jackson – AUS
Nick Dana – USA
Jena Hansen – DEN
Tom Johnson – USA
Tony Mutter – NZL
Roberto Bermúdez de Castro Muñoz – ESP
Martin Keruzore – FRA – OBR

Race details – Live content – Scoreboard – Race route – Facebook – YouTube

The second leg of the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race starts November 5 and is expected to take three weeks for the seven teams to complete the 7000 nm course from Lisbon, Portugal to Cape Town, South Africa.

2017-18 Edition: Entered Teams – Skippers
• Team AkzoNobel (NED), Simeon Tienpont (NED)
• Dongfeng Race Team (CHN), Charles Caudrelier (FRA)
• MAPFRE (ESP), Xabi Fernández (ESP)
• Vestas 11th Hour Racing (DEN/USA), Charlie Enright (USA)
• Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag (HKG), David Witt (AUS)
• Turn the Tide on Plastic (POR), Dee Caffari (GBR)
• Team Brunel (NED), Bouwe Bekking (NED)

Background: Racing the one design Volvo Ocean 65, the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race begins in Alicante, Spain on October 22 2017 with the final finish in The Hague, Netherlands on June 30 2018. In total, the 11-leg race will visit 12 cities in six continents: Alicante, Lisbon, Cape Town, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Auckland, Itajaí, Newport, Cardiff, Gothenburg, and The Hague. A maximum of eight teams will compete.

Source: Vestas 11th Hour Racing, Volvo Ocean Race