| ABN AMRO ONE SPEEDS TO PORTSMOUTH VICTORY |
| Monday, 29 May 2006 |
ABN AMRO ONE SPEEDS TO PORTSMOUTH VICTORY
Awesome display of power from the race champions
29 May 2006: The crew of ABN AMRO ONE continued their dominance of the Volvo Ocean Race today as they powered to victory in the Portsmouth inport race, finishing with a time of 2hr 14mins 16secs, some 4 minutes ahead of nearest rivals Pirates of the Caribbean. The conditions were well suited to Mike Sanderson, who celebrated his 35th birthday today, and gave the Kiwi skipper the opportunity of showing the Portsmouth crowds exactly what ABN AMRO ONE is capable of and why it has been the boat to beat in this race.
After a good start from both ABN AMRO boats it was Pirates of the Caribbean who rounded the first mark in first place after taking advantage of weather on the port side of the race track. ABN AMRO ONE had a solid first lap in second place before capitalizing on the Pirate’s mistakes when the Paul Cayard boat blew it’s spinnaker on the second downwind leg. ABN AMRO ONE held their lead to the finish line after an awesome display of the boat’s sheer power pulling away from the Pirates in a huge squall on the final upwind leg.
This victory now makes it four out of six inport race wins for Mike Sanderson and the crew of ABN AMRO ONE who effectively became overall Volvo Race Winners last week after claiming maximum points in the 7th leg of the race from New York to Portsmouth. The teams points total now stand at 84.5pts. Speaking from the dock at Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth, Mike Sanderson said, “The boys gave me a beautiful birthday present today –they were awesome. The racee committee did a great job today as the wind shifted over maybe 70 degrees or so. On two occasions we had big gusts, once on starboard and another as we gybed, we got pretty good at gybing with gusts and that allowed us to catch Pirates. It’s been quite a week for me personally and it’s great to finish my first race as a married man in first place.”
Bowman, Justin Slattery said, “We’ve had quite a week and it’s been a very emotional time for the team what with the tragedy of the last leg. Then Mike’s wedding on Friday was a great day for him and Emma and a privilege for me to be a Groomsman. Then to go on to the funeral of Hans the next day was hard. But I’m pleased we could finish on a high note. Credit should go to the shore crew who did an amazing job with such a short prep time so it’s great for everyone at TEAM ABN AMRO to get this result.”
“I’m really looking forward to the next leg now and sailing close to home up the West coast of Ireland. I’m hoping to see my Father at the Fastnet Rock who I’m sure will have a few friends there cheering us on.”
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