It's hard to get to the base of the Orient Express Racing Team, but the welcome is the best offered by any of the participating teams this year in the America's Cup. Early in the morning, everyone is already up and running, with music playing in their gym, overlooking the W Hotel, and fans running non-stop. The French are able to find the strength to smile and joke even with their first coffee of the day, regardless of whether the sky is a bit cloudy and threatening to drizzle. As expected, orders from Decathlon arrive.
They were the last to sign up, with a new team driven by sailors Stephan Kandler and Bruno Dubois, after the former fell in love with the boats he saw in the previous edition of the regatta held in Auckland and wanted to try his luck again in the world's oldest sporting competition. They have been assigned the most secluded area, away from the bustling Port Vell where the New Zealanders or Swiss are located, very close to where the constant cruise ships arriving in Barcelona throughout the year dock. From Plaça de les Drassanes, you have to walk fifteen minutes to reach their facilities, passing by the Transmed ferry boarding terminal, bound for the Balearic Islands. Although some buses speed up the journey, most of the Orient Express members travel by bike, all living very or quite close, especially in Paral·lel, but also in Born, Gòtic, Barceloneta, or Poblenou, neighborhoods that have long sounded like science fiction to Barcelonans. Only one arrives by car, and that's because he comes from Castelldefels.
With the attached dock in the background, its base is just below the Europa Gate bridge, where buses carrying cruise passengers to the city for short excursions circulate. It doesn't matter much because the Orient Express has come to play and have a good time, knowing how to turn around everything that comes their way. And without forgetting to remember that, although they are making their debut this year, French teams are among those who have participated the most in the last 50 years of the regatta, only behind the Americans and ahead of the New Zealanders. "It's true that we are a bit far from everything, but here we have everything. Our base is the largest of all. We are in our bubble but we have the best views," says Alexander Champy-McLean, from the communication team, in very good Spanish, while pointing to the Sagrada Família, the Cathedral, and Columbus, "besides, we are the only ones who see all the other teams every time they enter and leave the port."
For their daily operations, the French team has erected a total of six buildings, most of them made from shipping containers. These facilities house a hundred members of the Orient Express, with 17 nationalities and, surprisingly for the French, English as the official language. On a surface of 5,000 square meters embedded in the heart of the port area, they have space for offices, the gym, showers, the kitchen, more than one terrace and, most importantly, the workshop where their boat is kept, very similar to that of the winner of the previous edition and organizer of the current one, the Emirates Team New Zealand. The New Zealanders have sold them the design of the third version of their AC75 ---with a length of 75 feet (about 23 meters)---, since, joining so late, the French did not have enough time to do it on their own. Therefore, in the water they will sound the same, unlike others like the Americans who, directly, are not even heard.
Since they had plenty of space, they have even been able to build a specific shed just for the sails and the mast. This last piece is what justifies that there is a crane at each base, necessary to place it. It is also where the flag is obligatorily hung when the boat is at sea, with a size proportional to the ego of each of the participating nations.
Worried about the drought, now more appeased but a big problem a year ago, when they settled in Barcelona, the French have installed a system to reuse water, in addition to measures to reduce consumption, with showers that turn red if too many liters are spent. As indicated by the Head of Logistics and Sustainability of the Orient Express, Emilie Lorens, they take advantage of rainwater ---when there is any---, showers, and air conditioning. It accumulates in tanks until it passes through a filter, developed by the French water management company Saur, which can then be reused to flush the toilet or clean the boat. They also treat black water ---kitchens and sinks---, with a part being able to be returned to the sea after having purified it with bacteria.
If in the gym the sailors train an hour every day, as soon as they arrive at the base around 8 in the morning, activity does not decline in the workshop either, with 60 workers dedicated to the care and supervision of the boat. Preparing it to go out to sea takes time, so the operators get to work early to get everything ready. Only for the foils, those aquatic wings that make America's Cup boats fly, three workers dedicate themselves every day to sanding and painting them. And, just in case, they are hosed down before putting them in the water. Not a speck of dust can remain because it is the only part that is in contact with the sea and has to be as polished as possible to be the fastest.
As the boat gets ready to go out for training or competition, depending on the day, the sailors meet with their respective coaches and technical team, which includes data analysts, to prepare for the day. Here, preparations are multiplied by three, with the men's team, the youth team, and the women's team, with almost 30 athletes in total. With an hour to change and eat, advancing the French schedule to 11 in the morning, when noon arrives, it's time to go out to sea. About four hours in the hottest part of the day, so long sleeves, helmets, and plenty of sunscreen, grateful that the Orient Express has painted the top of the boat white, unlike the black of other teams. "We see them splashing water on others to cool them down. So it could be worse," says one of their cyclists, Antoine Nougarède, an engineer from the railway company SNCF who had competed in international rowing championships. "You end up tired and with a bit of a headache, but, with the wind and speed, you don't notice the heat as much," he adds.
Many rowers like Nougarède occupy the most unknown position on America's Cup boats. With eight crew members per team, there are two sailors dedicated to steering (helmsmen), two more to deploying the sails (trimmers) and four cyclists (cyclors), responsible for generating enough energy to move the boat, having to make changes every hour given the intensity of their position. Among the cyclists, there are also crossfitters and, in the case of the Orient Express, there is Maxime Guyon, the first Frenchman to become the world champion of this popular discipline in 2021, as well as a gendarme for 22 years and a graduate in Accounting. On social media, as Nougarède points out, they read comments comparing the regatta's cyclists to slaves, but he feels fortunate to be able to work practicing sports, even if he gets the hardest part. "We enjoy it immensely, the sensations on the boat are very strong. Also, in our case, when the training is over, that's it, while the rest of the crew analyzes how everything went and has to stay longer," he remarks.
It is clear that in the America's Cup a lot of work is done, extending the days until dawn if something fails on the boat, and there is little time off, training as much as possible and reducing weekends. "When we have a day off, we take the opportunity to clean the house, do the shopping and try to have a normal life," says Champy-McLean, who has moved here with his girlfriend, the team's graphic designer, "it's a shame to be in Barcelona and not be able to spend more time discovering the city."
The same thing happens to Nougarède: "I'm not having time to do tourism. I was already in Barcelona ten years ago and saw the most important things, so when I have a couple of days without training I prefer to leave the city," he points out, having gone to Montserrat and Ibiza because he finds it easier to disconnect. In the Orient Express they have a WhatsApp group to go running or go to the climbing wall, although it's hard to see the cyclists there. "When we don't train, we just want to recover. We are too tired to go play padel," he maintains. He prefers to meet up with the others for a drink.