VOLVO OCEAN RACE : LE TEAM IRLANDAIS AU COMPLET

The Green Team’s Volvo Open 70 has emerged from McConaghy Boats in Zhuhai, China and is being prepared for shipping to the UK.

To mark the occasion, the team held a “Thank You China Event” near the build site located 60 miles north of Hong Kong.

Construction started in October and has been completed on schedule, with the boat due to depart on 8th May.

The mainly Australian-led team at McConaghy’s has been working alongside American designers Reichel/Pugh and a 90-strong Chinese build team. 40,000 man hours have gone into the build.

Green Team CEO Jamie Boag said: “It is fantastic to see the boat completed. As we were late in the production of this boat it was crucial that it would be completed on time, something we were confident McConaghy Boats could deliver.

“China is an amazing place. If you want something manufactured or sourced, it can be done really quickly to a very high standard.”

With the build now complete the team will prepare the boat to be shipped back to Europe, with an anticipated arrival in the UK of early June.

Once in the UK the boat will be assembled and tested for two weeks before heading to the team’s homeport of Galway in Ireland, which will be the team’s base before leaving for Alicante in September.

Galway is one of the 11 stopover ports during the race. Galway’s positioning allows for excellent training facilities for the team, with the testing conditions of the North Atlantic on their doorstep.

Ian Walker, Green Team skipper, said: “This boat has been seven months in the making and we’ve had a fantastic team working on this project. I would like to thank everybody in the project, but especially those involved in the hard graft here in China.

“I am confident that we have a great boat and will have a competitive entry into the race. I cannot wait to get her back to Europe and out on the water to start preparing for the adventure ahead of us all.”