PageTHarken: Volvo Ocean Race

2012 Volvo Ocean Race

Harken Technical Service at Cape Town, South Africa Stopover

As a member of the Harken Technical Service Team, I recently traveled to Cape Town, South Africa to meet the Volvo Ocean Racing fleet as they arrived from Alicante Spain. There I joined the rest of the Technical Support crew: Team leader Massimiliano (Max) Ronchetti (Italy), Mark Gardner (U.K.), Simon Botes, and Zac Kiell-Cock (RSA).

Team leader Max Ronchetti For this edition of the race, Harken has equipped all the boats with full hardware and winch packages as well as Battcar systems. Our team spent 12 days working on the boats at the V & A (Victoria & Alfred) Waterfront in the shadow of Table Mountain—not a bad scene.

I have been a member of Harken's Product Development team for several Volvo Ocean Races, but this was the first time I had been on site with the tech team. It was terrific to personally talk with the sailors. They always provide Harken with ideas for gear and new ways to tame the toughest sailing conditions in the world. The race also gave us the opportunity to work with some of the best sailors, the coolest boats, and most passionate people in the business.

While in Cape Town, the boats were completely stripped down; we pulled off every winch, inspected every gear and bearing and replaced everything that needed replacing. Then we greased and oiled the winches before reinstalling them for the in-port racing and the sprint to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

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Harken Tech Team We also stopped by Abu Dhabi, Groupama, and Sanya to check on our gear, answer additional service questions on deck hardware and batten car systems, and make sure the teams had everything they needed. For this iteration of the Volvo, Harken designed several new products including the TTR2, the next generation of Grand Prix Blocks. We also expanded our range of GP2 batten car systems.

The Volvo Ocean Race provides me with great insights. The teams hold our gear to the highest standards and are demanding but appreciative customers.

Nick Priaulx— Racing Hardware Product Manager

Nick Priaulx—Racing Hardware Product Manager

A graduate of the University of Minnesota with a degree in mechanical engineering, Nick has been working toward his Master's degree in Product Design and Development from Northwestern University, Illinois while at Harken. In his spare time, Nick races aboard a Mumm 36.

Nick has been a member of Harken's Product Development team for several Volvo Ocean Races. He says that being on-site was a great opportunity to work directly with Volvo sailors on new ideas for gear and new ways to tame the toughest sailing conditions in the world.

Group Ama Sailing Team
Puma Ocean Racing powered by BERG
Team Telefónica
Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing

Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand
Team Sanya

All Volvo Boats are Harken Equipped

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