Volvo Ocean Race
Wed 24, September 2008 11:12:23
Volvo Ocean Race winner Mike Sanderson has told Team Delta Lloyd that if they look after their boat, the boat will look after them.
Ger O’Rourke and his crew were the last to sign up for the race and will be the only team on the start-line sailing a first generation Volvo Open 70.
But Sanderson, who sailed the boat formerly known as ABN AMRO ONE to a whopping 23-point victory in the last race, believes they will race a craft more than capable of springing a few upsets.
It is a message Sanderson personally shared with O’Rourke when they spoke shortly after the Irishman purchased “Black Betty” from Ericsson Racing Team, who had earlier bought the yacht as a training vessel for their two crews in this race.
“It’s pretty cool that Delta Lloyd got into it”, said Sanderson, the team director of TEAMORIGIN in the America’s Cup. “It is going to be a tough battle for Team Delta Lloyd. It is obviously all very late. As long as they stick to realistic goals, they will do well.”
Key to achieving that, according to Sanderson, will be a conservative approach from O’Rourke in the early stages.
“We know she is good enough, so they can take it easy until they are comfortable with her,” he added. “The last thing you want to do is break down and get further behind early on. The yacht is very reliable. Hopefully they maintain things and don’t change too much.”
Sanderson assumes the second generation yachts will naturally be quicker than Delta Lloyd, but recognised that Ericsson had the benefit of designer Juan Kouyoumdjian, who was the inspiration behind the ABN AMRO yachts.
However, Sanderson expects Delta Lloyd’s keel could be a leveller between the old and the new.
He said: “The only boats we know they are faster, are the Ericsson ones. We don’t know where everybody else is. We have to assume that the new generation yachts are all faster. However, all teams have been struggling to get to the maximum keel weight under the new rule. We know that the ABN AMRO ONE has the maximum keel weight, because that was what the new rule was based on.
“So yes, she could end up being pretty quick. Since they are coming along that late, they are also better off in that boat than rushing a new one. If they go the right way, they can win a leg for sure.”
“If they get it right where others don’t, that will definitely outweigh that two or three percentage speed difference. From what I have heard, she is still quicker at times. She has a maximum keel weight and is beautifully built down the road. She doesn’t deteriorate really.”
Since Ger O’Rourke bought the boat in June, Sanderson has been in contact with the Irishman to discuss areas for improvement.
He said: “Ericsson kept it pretty much the same as it was. They maintained her to a high level. That will be great for the Delta Lloyd guys. Ericsson did some modifications to the mast. I was in touch with Ger O’Rourke and his team after they bought it. I certainly gave them a bit of an indication of what I would have invested some money on, in case we would have had our time again.
“By the end of our race, we had a big list of things that we would have wanted to change. Many of my guys ended up going to other syndicates. Now you see lots of what we talked about as a team spread out amongst the fleet, which is good.”
The fact that his “baby” will compete in this year’s Volvo Ocean Race, makes a difference. He explained: “She was pretty much our baby. We created her, watched her going up and down the tank.
“It has been a long time since someone has taken an older generation yacht. You have to go back to the 1993-94 Whitbread Race.”
“I am definitely going to watch the race with more interest. I just hope they look after her and she looks after them."