At the end of last week, Puma returned with Ken Read, and now Whitbread legend Grant Dalton is back with his Team New Zealand. The Volvo Ocean Race is gathering momentum and seems to be well on the way to recapturing its former glory days.
Dalton, who has competed in the race six times, most recently with "Amer Sports One" in 2001, and won it twice, said: "It's no secret that I've never lost my enthusiasm for this Round the World Race. The Volvo project electrifies our team. Now that we have found a great sponsorship partner in Camper, the designers and engineers can get on with the development." The Spanish company is a major European manufacturer of fashion footwear.
Dalton explained that it has always been Emirates Team New Zealand's strategy to be at the forefront of as many areas of regatta sailing as possible, whether it be match racing with Dean Barker, the TP-52 class or the Americas Cup.
Dalton has not yet given any details on the choice of skipper, but the Volvo 70 will be designed by team designer Marcelino Botin, who was already heavily involved in the development of Puma's "Il Mostro".
With Team New Zealand, five crews are now firmly registered: Italy with Giovanni Soldini's "Italia 70", France's multihull sailing star Franck Cammas with "Groupama", Ken Read with "Puma" and Team Abu Dhabi. The latter is currently the subject of wild speculation as to whether it could be a cover for an Alinghi project after Ernesto Bertarelli left his future at the Americas Cup open.
As it is also almost certain that there will be one or two Spanish teams and another Irish team after "Green Dragon", seven or eight high-calibre participants already seem possible two years before the start. Perhaps the Volvo Race will finally be able to report double-digit entry numbers again, which were the norm in the early years.
Andreas Fritsch
Editor Travel
