Winning the Volvo Ocean Race is huge for me. It is everything that I have worked for since I left school to become a sail maker. Finally to lift the trophy was a dream come true and, as we pulled into Göteborg to be greeted by hundreds of spectators, it was a feeling I won’t ever forget.
There is no doubt that these boats are extreme, but they are also very, very exciting, which was the attraction for me. Not only did we get to push the boundaries of design and development, but we got to start with a clean sheet and create something totally new. Since the third day that we were on the water with the white boat, we knew this was going to be one crazy ride and it hasn’t disappointed.
The winning team
For me this race and victory have been about the people. Man for man, we had to line up and go head to head with any guy on any other team and know that we would be thinking smarter, working harder and performing better. This goes for everyone – the designers, boat builders, shore crew, marketing team and we, the sailors. It was a combination of all these people that made Team ABN AMRO such a formidable force. We have had good times and bad – there is no doubt that it was tough stepping off the water in Sanxenxo, Spain, when we came in last in the in-port race with the white boat just in front of us. But I still wouldn’t have swapped our boat for any other. We knew that we had created something that wasn’t going to perform in every condition, so that result was no surprise to us. Of course this does not compare with the tragedy of losing a fellow team mate – nothing can prepare you for that and nothing makes up for it. However, I know that Hans would have wanted us to go on and win that leg and win the race in the process. He worked as hard as anyone for it and would have been very proud.
Hard to describe
It is hard to put into such a few words the full essence of this race, the boats, the amount of water we saw flying down the deck, the stress of watching hundreds of miles of lead disappear, the cold, the wet, the best and the worst sailing of my life, the moments of despair and the euphoria at winning. This is a unique race which attracts the highest level of sporting contest.
It is too early to say whether I would do it again. This is not just a job – you can’t do this race just because you don’t have anything else to do. It requires you to give such a big part of yourself that it has to be right. A combination of a great sponsor, a great bunch of people and the new rule all made this race an awesome challenge and opportunity. I am happy that we did it. We achieved what we set out to do with some unbelievable times along the way.
Mike Sanderson
Part 1 : From the Cockpit: Grant Wharington
Part 2 : From the Cockpit: Neal McDonald
Part 3 : From the Cockpit: Seb Josse
Part 4 : From the Cockpit: Torben Grael
Part 5 : From the Cockpit: Paul Cayard
Part 7 : From the Cockpit: Bouwe Bekking
31fe7773-ad63-4897-95f6-e107551af445ImagePrimaryMovc5ae3d4f-8b8b-4ccb-93cd-71924cbdd406images/assets/portsprize_13.jpgtrueA jubilant ABN AMRO ONE receive the prize for finishing first in Leg 7 ©Oskar Kihlborgportsprize_13.jpg.jpg400600©Oskar Kihlborg8cdefb9e-27ce-4a94-8f59-1e7adedff064images/assets/portsprize_13_thumb.jpgfalseA jubilant ABN AMRO ONE receive the prize for finishing first in Leg 7 ©Oskar Kihlborgportsprize_13_thumb.jpg{Width=600, Height=4.jpg67100©Oskar Kihlborg7Leg0710ContentImage16TeamABN AMRO ONEportsprize_13,A jubilant ABN AMRO ONE receive the prize for finishing first in Leg 7 ©Oskar Kihlborg2006-05-31T16:44:23.997truetruefalsefalsea38ce0fd-c34d-43a0-bb3a-b75c95214a60ImagePrimaryMovbab9e88e-98f8-48b3-ad77-7521f1155640images/assets/portsmouthinport_14.jpgtrueMike Sanderson skipper of ABN AMRO ONE ©Martin Stockbridgeportsmouthinport_14.jpg.jpg600400©Martin Stockbridge48330016-90bf-4926-9559-b96db58d2438images/assets/portsmouthinport_14_thumb.jpgfalseMike Sanderson skipper of ABN AMRO ONE ©Martin Stockbridgeportsmouthinport_14_thumb.jpg{Width=400, Height=6.jpg10067©Martin Stockbridge7Leg0710ContentImage16TeamABN AMRO ONEportsmouthinport_14,Mike Sanderson skipper of ABN AMRO ONE ©Martin Stockbridge2006-05-29T14:56:08.467truetruefalsefalsea47f56ae-0fd9-440a-80ab-5fa86a5cb38dImagePrimaryMovff70a64f-9f3b-487a-8ab1-594f5c4026beimages/assets/tough-4.jpgtrueSkipping out of the water like an International 14, ABN AMRO ONE is eager to get to the finish line in Portsmouth © Oskar Khilborgtough-4.jpg.jpg400600 © Oskar Khilborg6bfd8e56-a237-4a2f-8d99-e211151f11e3images/assets/tough-4_thumb.jpgfalseSkipping out of the water like an International 14, ABN AMRO ONE is eager to get to the finish line in Portsmouth © Oskar Khilborgtough-4_thumb.jpg{Width=600, Height=4.jpg67100 © Oskar Khilborg7Leg0710ContentImage16TeamABN AMRO ONEtough-4,Skipping out of the water like an International 14, ABN AMRO ONE is eager to get to the finish line in Portsmouth © Oskar Khilborg2006-05-21T07:15:43.54truetruefalsefalse0d5ce213-54a0-429a-9570-de0a4c50072aImagePrimaryMove25e53c7-75cb-4165-840b-8a9e180f70f2images/assets/tough-2.jpgtrueExploding through a wave off the Lizard, ABN AMRO ONE takes top points from the scoring gate on Leg 7 © Oskar Khilborgtough-2.jpg.jpg400600© Oskar Khilborge72ed129-671c-435d-b977-4bca3a216fa6images/assets/tough-2_thumb.jpgfalseExploding through a wave off the Lizard, ABN AMRO ONE takes top points from the scoring gate on Leg 7 © Oskar Khilborgtough-2_thumb.jpg{Width=600, Height=4.jpg67100© Oskar Khilborg7Leg0710ContentImage16TeamABN AMRO ONEtough-2,Exploding through a wave off the Lizard, ABN AMRO ONE takes top points from the scoring gate on Leg 7 © Oskar Khilborg2006-05-21T07:07:52.353truetruefalsefalse247746a1-e984-40b9-b00c-94be43918057ImagePrimaryMov9016fb35-cd52-4734-9430-aaf2f3171e21images/assets/5866_600x400.jpgtrueMike Sanderson (NZ) skipper of ABN AMRO ONE and leader of the Volvo Ocean Race ©Oskar Kihlborg5866_600x400.jpg.jpg400600©Oskar Kihlborg8fb5bffe-8ba3-495f-a6df-d97b0781b192images/assets/5866_600x400_thumb.jpgfalseMike Sanderson (NZ) skipper of ABN AMRO ONE and leader of the Volvo Ocean Race ©Oskar Kihlborg5866_600x400_thumb.jpg{Width=600, Height=4.jpg67100©Oskar Kihlborg6Leg0610ContentImage16TeamABN AMRO ONE5866_600x400,Mike Sanderson (NZ) skipper of ABN AMRO ONE and leader of the Volvo Ocean Race ©Oskar Kihlborg2006-05-11T18:43:58.313truetruefalsefalsefe3ccf5c-e0a6-4ee0-8c86-ad0b03d3725bImagePrimaryMov29993915-ef28-4633-909c-ea0b7a166ab4images/assets/leg3start_jon_05.jpgtrueABN AMRO ONE after the leg 3 start ©Jon Nashleg3start_jon_05.jpg.jpg400600©Jon Nash40981ecb-8892-471b-b6de-f561c9e957f1images/assets/leg3start_jon_05_thumb.jpgfalseABN AMRO ONE after the leg 3 start ©Jon Nashleg3start_jon_05_thumb.jpg{Width=600, Height=4.jpg67100©Jon Nash3Leg0310ContentImage16TeamABN AMRO ONEleg3start_jon_05,ABN AMRO ONE after the leg 3 start ©Jon Nash2006-02-13T12:30:15.373truetruefalsefalsec581be6e-8ad8-473b-a9e9-96f7105f2342ImagePrimaryMovf6d4f57a-8f7d-49a1-8096-fd909c7c39adimages/assets/leg3start_oskar_10.jpgtrueABN AMRO ONE crashes through the waves as she heads out of Port Phillip Bay ©Oskar Kihlborgleg3start_oskar_10.jpg.jpg600400©Oskar Kihlborg31205093-3e49-4452-aa3f-e0f6cbe293a0images/assets/leg3start_oskar_10_thumb.jpgfalseABN AMRO ONE crashes through the waves as she heads out of Port Phillip Bay ©Oskar Kihlborgleg3start_oskar_10_thumb.jpg{Width=400, Height=6.jpg10067©Oskar Kihlborg3Leg0310ContentImage16TeamABN AMRO ONEleg3start_oskar_10,ABN AMRO ONE crashes through the waves as she heads out of Port Phillip Bay ©Oskar Kihlborg2006-02-13T11:31:27.127truetruefalsefalsebb473b73-8f2c-4312-a327-077b86ad3b52AudioPrimaryMovfc68aff7-5f61-489d-ba66-c735f49e7bd3http://content.volvooceanrace.org/audio/leg07/en/0520_mike_sanderson.mp3false4006007f70d29a-b8f4-4bf7-b160-f244b053d5a6transcript/audio9112.rtftrueaudio9112.rtf149.rtf7Leg0712ContentAudio16TeamABN AMRO ONEMike Sanderson reflects on an amazing win that was a childhood dream.2006-05-21T04:30:45.057truetruefalsefalseMike Sanderson described winning the Volvo Ocean Race as his climbing of Mount Everest or his Olympic medal. It is part six of "From the Cockpit" 2006-09-07T16:00:00Thu, 07 Sep 2006 16:00:00 UTC