Crew To Sail

China and Ireland Team Up for Last Minute Volvo Ocean Race Entry

With only four months to the start of the race, China revealed its first sole entry into the Volvo Ocean Race this morning and also announced an Irish sponsor as part of its first challenge for world sailing honours. Discover Ireland, promoting Irish tourism, is backing the boat as a secondary sponsor. Mike Sanderson, one of the world's leading sailors and past winner of the race, will lead Team Sanya. 

Irish crew will also be on the boat for this episode of the race but those details are under wraps until an Irish launch of the project on July 1, it is understood.

The Chinese entry is the seventh entry in to the race.

The race finishes in Galway in June 2012.

Despite its huge technical and financial resources, the most populous nation on the planet has never won a round-the-globe sailing competition but intends to make the breakthrough, with the recruitment of New Zealander Mike Sanderson as skipper.

Sanderson, 40, is a two-time winner of the Volvo Ocean Race and will chase a hat trick of triumphs with a crew that mixes experienced sailors with relatively raw Chinese members.

Team Sanya is the seventh world-class contender to join this year's race, with Sanderson going head-to-head with some of the sailing's biggest names.

"This is a fantastic opportunity to race under the flag of such a great country and culture," said Sanderson today at the Team Sanya launch in central Beijing.

"We are building up a strong team and are ready to take on this exciting challenge. Our approach will be one of compelling intent, working fast and smart, representing this great country and team with ambition, dynamism and colourful energy."

China, as is the case in many sports, has incredible potential within sailing and a win in the Volvo Ocean Race would be a huge boost to its ambitions.

Li Quanhai, Vice Chairman of the China Yacht Association said: "China is a sports power and has abundant marine resources. Our involvement in top sailing events, such as the Olympic Regatta and the Volvo Ocean Race, greatly improves the development of China's water sports.

Knut Frostad, CEO of Volvo Ocean Race said: "We are very excited about the news of Team Sanya and the return of Mike Sanderson, a veteran and true ambassador of the Volvo Ocean Race.

SailRaceWin: VOR : Groupama 4 sets off on Qualifier...

Troisième concurrent de la Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012 à partir pour son parcours de qualification (après Camper et Telefònica), Groupama 4 a quitté le ponton ce mercredi à 10h00. Le skipper Franck Cammas et le navigateur Jean-Luc Nélias ont adapté le parcours de qualification aux besoins de l'équipe. « Nous cherchons des zones ventées afin de pouvoir tester toutes sortes de voiles et de manoeuvres dans des conditions variables ». « Les règles imposent que la qualification se déroule dans un océan, dans des conditions de large. C'est l'occasion pour les plus jeunes équipiers d'accumuler des milles et pour les marins remplaçants de découvrir le bateau » précise Luc Gellusseau, responsable des règles de course au sein de Groupama sailing team. Bruno Jeanjean, numéro 1 à bord de Groupama 3, a embarqué en plus de l'équipage pour expérimenter pendant sept jours les joies humides de la plage avant d'un Volvo Open 70. Images and words on this blog are copyright to the author(s) concerned. No images may be copied from this blog without the written permission of the copyright holder(s). Words may be reproduced, with written permission from the copyright holder(s), provided that full acknowledgement is made to both the author and location of initial publication, including, but not limited to, webpage links.

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