16.02.2006
ON THE DOCKSIDE AT THE END OF LEG THREE OF THE VOLVO OCEAN RACE
Bouwe Bekking – Skipper (movistar)
“I heard it was only nine seconds but it is very sweet. A win is a win.”
“It looked like we had a nice little break just before coming into Wellington. We had a lead of 2-3 miles and then we parked it up and they [ABN AMRO ONE] came right up to us. On the beat they were a little quicker than us but we just managed to hang on. We are really, really happy.”
“The ride was fantastic and nearly all the way we were doing 20-30 knots. The weather was nice with sunshine and you can’t wish for anything better for sailing. Of course the finish was a bit dramatic for us but we are so happy to be here.”
“We have a really fantastic team and a strong after guard in Stuart Bannatyne, Chris Nicholson and myself and it means that we managed to get some rest and sleep as we could swap over.”
“We are really happy to be here and it is a great result for the whole team.”
“This leg has been unbelievably tense – we managed to get a little lead and it was gone in no time. New Zealand is a nice leg to win and after the start we had to the race this feels particularly special.”
“The boat is in good shape. We have no serious damage and nothing too dramatic has happened.”
Stuart Bannatyne – Watch Captain (movistar)
“It is very nice to be here especially in first place. It was an epic race and I am just so happy.”
“It was a very enjoyable leg. Very nice sailing all the way across and then nice to stay in touch with ABN AMRO ONE and have a chance of catching them in the light airs, which fortunately we did. We just managed to hold them off and the breeze came in again.”
“It has been spectacular racing for the class and for the Volvo Ocean Race. I have never experienced a finish as close as that – it was just awesome.”
“It was unbelievable to be the first boat into Wellington. I never thought it would come down to a one boat length win, but a win is a win! This is where I grew up and where I learnt to sail, and it is just fantastic to be back here. This is just so special to me.”
Mike Sanderson – Skipper (ABN AMRO ONE)
“It was a bit sad for us but great for movistar. We lost a 40 mile lead and that is pretty tough but we have had some awesome racing over the last 24 hours so we are pleased that we managed to hang on.”
“We came barrelling into the Cook Straight and then went from wind to no wind and we knew we would lose the lead that we had managed to gain.”
“We came off fairly lightly. Our only real damage was when we stuck the boat into a big wave and damaged the pulpit at the front of the boat but we are pretty sure that we can fix this ourselves and don’t need to take a two hour penalty.”
“The 6-hourly reports were pretty stressful, we would get one and we would have a 30 mile lead and then we didn’t need to receive the next one to know we had lost it as we could see the next boat.”
“The finish was amazing. Movistar did a fantastic job tactically as we came round the heads into Wellington Bay and we had a fantastic tacking dual which was quite amazing after nearly 1500 nautical miles. Unfortunately we didn’t quite manage to pull it out.”
“We can’t be upset, we have extended our lead by adding six points to our score and that is why we are here.”
Paul Cayard, Skipper (Pirates of the Caribbean)
“We are pretty happy with this result but we were aiming to win so we are not completely satisfied. I am happy thought that we are gaining momentum and consistency on the podium.”
“We sailed pretty well to get third. ABN AMRO ONE and movistar took a little better line on the second day. It is all good, I am happy with the progress in general – the crew, the boat and everything is coming along nicely and the campaign in building momentum.”
“We started late, and had problems on the first leg but we are starting to get some traction and I am happy with that.”
“We are well on track to being competitive from Rio de Janeiro onwards. We are going to be competitive and we can certainly finish on the podium. There is still a few thousand miles to go and we are a very keen and solid group and we are looking forward to it.”
Knut Frostad, Watch Leader (Brasil 1)
“We are disappointed with our result but at least the boat is in one piece and we don’t have to fix it. We are still learning about the boat as we haven’t done the same amount of miles as some of the other teams. We have been able to race the boat hard and that has been good. We now have to concentrate on being first into Rio as that is really important to us.”
Simon Fisher – Navigator (ABN AMRO TWO)
“We are really disappointed with our result. We didn’t have the best start and it spiralled from there as we ripped the indexsail, we had a power outage and then we damaged a crew member.”
“We did catch up with Pirates but then we fell out the back and the rich got richer.”
“On the whole we are lucky that we got off as lightly as we did. We have an achievable work list and we will hopefully be on the start line on time.”
Richard Mason – Crew member (Ericsson)
“It was a very difficult leg. It is never easy when you are tail end Charlie, but we did have some fantastic sailing. At one stage we were all separated by two miles. Unfortunately the boats that were just underneath us were on a better angle and just managed to get away. The rich got richer and we just fell off the back. It was a real shame.”
“We had a good tussle with ABN AMRO TWO – we kept chipping away and made good gains, but unfortunately they got round the corner first and went away from us.”
Neal McDonald – Skipper (Ericsson)
“The rules are very clear and you are allowed to suspend racing – it is only something you would do if you were coming last. It is an opportunity to use some extra help. It is an opportunity to get everything checked and get out there on Sunday in the best form we can. If we had caught ABN AMRO TWO we probably would not have made this decision but chosen to take a penalty at the start of the next leg.”
Steve Hayles – Navigator (Ericsson)
“There is a provision in the rules for a boat to suspend racing at any time for any reason and it has been used by people in previous races and in this race and we have some issues here we would like to get some outside help on and get fixed.”
“We came in here and talked about whether we would or wouldn’t and we have taken the decision that we are better off to suspend racing at this stage. We want to get the boat 100% and concentrate on the next leg. We will have to go out and finish leg three to complete it and then we will turn our thoughts to leg four.”
For further information please contact:
Sacha Oswald Volvo Ocean Race Press Officer in Wellington:
Mob: +64 21 104 5614 Email: sacha.oswald@volvooceanrace.org.
www.volvooceanrace.org
|
