Guillermo Altadill

GUILLERMO ALTADILLwas born on June 15th, 1962. He is Spanish and lives in Barcelona, Spain. He is married with 4 children.

Born and brought up in Barcelona, Guillermo Altadill is Spain’s most experienced yachtman and the perfect ambassador for Estrella Damm, a Spanish brewery with a great heritage in Barcelona. The sponsor and its skipper have great feeling for their Catalan roots and are enthusiastic about the idea to promote their city to an international audience of fans of this fascinating ocean sport. The Barcelona World Race will be Guillermo’s seventh circumnavigation. He has already competed in...• 18 Atlantic crossings • 6 circunnavigations• 300.000 + miles sailed in competition• 2 Volvo Ocean Race (2005/2006: Ericsson and 2001/2002: Assa Abloy)• 2 Whitbread Round the World Race• Winner of The Race: Club MedHe also was onboard the maxi-catamaran Cheyenne when it set the Jules Vernes’s record for fastest tour around the world with crew.

Altadill is not only a specialist on big ocean boats but has also achieved similar success in Laser (vela ligera) and Olympic classes. He was Spanish Champion in Soling and Tornado and the trainer of the Tornado Gold medalist in Atlanta ’96. His impressive mixture of qualifications made him enter America’s Cup, as part of the United Internet Team Germany.

Husband and father of four children, three boys and a girl, Guillermo is a most typical Spaniard: calm on the outside and appasionate inside. Extremely professional and very centered, Guillermo knows that this new kind of boats and this race mean a new challenge for him. In spite of his six previous circunnavigations, Guillermo has never navigated an IMOCA Open 60 and this will be the first time he participates in a race with such a limited team, compared to the crews of 12 to 18 that he is used to during competition. After navigating around the world on maxi-catamarans, the Barcelona World Race will also mean the longest period at sea. There is no doubt that he’ll try to make it seem as short as possible. SOME DATA ABOUT GUILLERMO:Nickname: SparrowNumber of miles in competition: 320.000Best moment in navigation: Winning the raceWorst moment in navigation: to lose any raceFavorite food: JapaneseFavorite music: Dire StraitsFavorite drink: WineFavorite type of boat: multi-hull

INTERVIEW WITH THE SKIPPER: This will be your seventh race around the world, what is different about this one compared to the others that you’ve made? A lot, really. I’ve never navigated on an IMOCA Open 60 but I have been on some Volvo 70, which has a lot in common. Also, I’ve never sailed alone or with only one more person, so this will be a great experience after all the navigation with crew that I’ve done. I’ve raced around the world non-stop twice before, but on multi-hulls that are much faster, so this will be longest time at sea. Which are your strong and weak points?My strength is my experience, as I’ve navigated on many kinds of boats and races and this gives me a good perspective to improve on all these areas. My weak points are that I haven’t got any experience in the IMOCA Open 60 class and that I’m not patient enough. What is your biggest wish for the Barcelona World Race?Work hard, have a good time and make it to the podium.

Which is your goal for this race? The same as the rest of the competitors... to win!

Category;Spanish people