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The
design, with 3-D images, was revealed in May of 2005 at
the opening of the Rio Boat Show, the largest boating
exhibit in Latin America. A scale model of the boat was
presented, impressive for sheer size, measuring 1.17
metres in length and, including the sails, almost 2
metres in height.
The
look was developed to emphasize the team's Brazilian
identity, without specifically using national symbols.
The logo design consists of a yellow diamond shape, also
found on the Brazilian flag, and, to enhance the
connection with water, water drops form the outline of
the logo, a shape that reflects energy and movement. The
visual identity, including the brand Brasil 1 and the
graphic design were developed by GAD'DESIGN, one of the
largest graphic design companies in Brazil.
New
sponsors
The
Brasil 1 project grows to even more world-sized
proportions and has gained two heavyweight supporters in
NIVEA Sun and ThyssenKrupp, which are present in most of
the world's markets.
ThyssenKrupp
with sales of 39 billion euros and 184,000 employees in
over 70 countries is one of the world's major technology
groups and occupies excellent positions on the
international markets. The three main business areas of
steel, capital goods and services, are organised in five
segments - Steel, Automotive, Elevator, Technologies and
Services and mark out the group's areas of competence.
Relations
between ThyssenKrupp and Brazil go back a long way.
Brazil is ThyssenKrupp's number one market in South
America and is represented by 24 companies and almost
9,000 employees. . Most of the activities are in the
Automotive and Elevator segments. Relations with Brazil
are currently being strengthened further by
ThyssenKrupp's plans to build a new steel mill in
Sepetiba with a capacity of 4.4 million metric tons of
crude steel. The first slab is scheduled to be produced
in 2008.
NIVEA
SUN, the top selling sunscreen in the world, has become
a partner of Brazilian sailing. Besides promoting the
NIVEA Sun Match Cup, a female sailing tournament which
takes place during the Match Race Brasil regatta, it
also supports the Rota Boreal project of Beto Pandiani,
and the Olympic campaign of sailors Adriana Kostiw
(unbeaten in 2005 in the Laser Radial class), Fernanda
Oliveira and Isabel Swan, who together compete in the
470 class.
The
companies come onboard as Silver Sponsors and join
Master Sponsor VIVO, Gold Sponsors Motorola and QUALCOMM,
and the Brazilian Government, represented by Apex
(Agency for the Promotion of Brazilian exports).
Brasil
1 team
Construction
enters final stage
This
week, the construction of Brasil 1 has entered its final
stages. The deck and hull were finally joined and sealed
together.
Former
Star world-champion and director of the project, Alan
Adler, is following the construction very closely.
"We are now starting to put together the equipment
which we will use during the race. A team of technicians
is heading to the shipyard in Indaiatuba to install the
engine, the generator, the desalinator, and other
equipment," explains Adler. In addition to the
electrical installations and electronic equipment, the
team will build a hydraulic system, which moves the
canting keel. "This is the most sensitive part of
the boat," says Adler.
"This
is the most modern sailing boat ever built in Brazil.
Construction techniques in carbon fibre and all the
other materials used are new to Brazil. In addition, a
large part of what is used in this process consists of
imported advanced technology and can't be found
here," says Horácio Carabelli, the technical
coordinator of the project and one of Brazil's most
renowned boat designers.
The
team, which will sail Brasil 1 in the Volvo Ocean Race
2005-06, was completed in January
2005.
Six new sailors were announced, ending a selection
process that started in September 2004. The sailing team
features crew from Brazil, Spain, Australia, Norway and
New Zealand.
Skipper
- Torben Grael
Skipper
Torben Grael will have a crew of four Brazilians, two
Spaniards, two Australians, one Norwegian and one New
Zealander. Guillermo Altadill and Roberto "Chunny"
Bermudez are from Spain. Adrianne Cahalan - so far the
only women to be sailing in the event this time - and
Justin Clougher are Australians. Knut Frostad is from
Norway and Stuart Wilson is from New Zealand. From
Brazil, Grael selected Marcelo Ferreira, João Signorini,
Kiko Pellicano and André Fonseca. Herve lê Quilliec
from France was appointed as shore manager.
Guillermo
Altadill
"I'm really happy with our crew. In the first
meeting, everyone got together really well, which is a
very important aspect for a round the world race. We
have a mix of youth, potential and experience",
Grael said.
Roberto
"Chunny" Bermudez
The
most experienced sailor in the crew is Spaniard
Guillermo Altadill. He has more than 330,000 nautical
miles in competitive sailing, six round the world races
and has crossed the Atlantic 18 times. He was second in
the last Volvo Ocean Race onboard Assa Abloy. "I
only accepted to be a part of Brasil 1 because I think
we can win the race. I have huge experience in this
race, but I have never won it. This time I want to win.
Besides, I consider Torben Grael the most complete
sailor in world," Altadill explained.
Stuart
Wilson
Adrianne Cahalan, the only women in the crew, will be
Brasil 1's navigator. She was nominated for the World
Yachtswoman of the Year four times and was the first
women to have broken the record for the fastest time
around the world in any type of boat. She was the
navigator onboard Cheyenne, the 125ft maxi catamaran
that broke the Round the World Speed Record on 5 April
2004 in 58 days, 9 hours, 32 minutes and 45 seconds.
Adrianne
Cahalan
Training starts in June and Torben Grael plans to
include Ilhabela Sailing Week, one of the most
prestigious in Brazil, in the training schedule.
Construction
Brasil 1, the first Brazilian built boat in Volvo Ocean
Race, is designed by Farr Yacht Design and is being
built in Indaiatuba, São Paulo. Knut Frostad, skipper
of Djuice Dragons in the last Volvo Race, was the
responsible for choosing the designers. Frostad is an
advisor and sailor for the Brazilian project.
"I pushed for Farr Yacht Design because we did not
have much time to develop the boat. In the last race,
Djuice was the only non-Farr boat in the race. Although
in some situations we were fast, in others we were
really slow. Farr has a conservative approach and is
always a safe approach", Frostad explained.
Boat construction started in October, with 20 workers.
Now, Marco Landi, the boat builder, has added 10 more to
the construction team, among them two New Zealanders.
The deck and the hull are in the final stage of
lamination.
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