SailingPR - Sailing & Regatas

Stockholm, January 30, 2008 - Three Swedish sailors, Martin Krite, Martin Strömberg and Anders Dahlsjö, will join Ericsson Racing Team’s Nordic crew in the Volvo Ocean Race, which starts in autumn 2008.
 
This will be the first round-the-world race for the three sailors, who all have roots on Sweden’s west coast. Ericsson Racing Team will compete with two boats, one with an international crew and one with an entirely Nordic crew, giving young Nordic sailors a chance to break into the small world of international yachting.
 
Dahlsjö and his colleagues well appreciate this opportunity to take part in such a prestigious race. “Last spring, I read that Ericsson was going to have a Nordic crew and that was when I saw my chance,” Dahlsjö says. “It’s extremely difficult to gain a foothold among the international crews, but I realized that this could give me the opportunity to get involved.”
 
Krite says: “Experience is all well and good, but you don’t sail on past merits alone. I can promise that none of us in the Nordic boat will be satisfied with just being involved in sailing around the world. I think that with good team spirit and the right attitude, we could surprise a few people.”
 
The youngest member of Ericsson’s Nordic crew is 25-year-old Martin Strömberg.
 
“I think they’ve been looking for people with personalities that suit the others onboard,” he says. “I think we are strong team players and I’m happy to be a part of the team”.
 
The Ericsson Racing Team’s training base is on Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, where, in addition to training, the team tests its boats and equipment. The Volvo Ocean Race will start in Alicante, Spain, in October 2008 and finish in St Petersburg, Russia, in July 2009.
 
Ericsson’s participation in the Volvo Ocean Race is a platform for driving sales. The race gives the company an unrivalled opportunity to reach customers around the world, spend quality time discussing joint opportunities and challenges, as well as showcasing how Ericsson’s solutions can help them develop relationships with enterprises and consumers.
 
With the new race course taking the fleet to stops in the Middle East, India and China, Ericsson will be able to reach further into these important growth regions.
 
End
 
 
Notes to Editors
For updates and pictures on the Ericsson Racing Team’s participation in the Volvo Ocean Race, please visit www.ericssonracingteam.com.
Biographies of sailors mentioned in this release are posted on the Ericsson Racing Team website. Phone interviews are possible on demand.
 
Broadcast material with interviews and the latest footage of the team sailing is available for download on: www.thenewsmarket.com/volvooceanrace
 
Ericsson is shaping the future of Mobile and Broadband Internet communications through its continuous technology leadership. Providing innovative solutions in more than 140 countries, Ericsson is helping to create the most powerful communication companies in the world.

Updated : 11/12/2007 07:37 GMT
Jérémie Beyou, skipper, Delta Dore: “Last night, in the middle of the night, we were sailing downwind, with the wind from about 300 degrees at about 25 knots, with gusts to thirty knots. In about 30 knots of wind, the mast suddenly broke and fell to the deck in two parts. It was quite violent because the waves were about 5 metres but fortunately we were both inside the boat, so no one was injured which is the main thing. We put on the survival suits and had to go on deck to cut everything from the boat because the mast was destroying the deck and roof. So we had no choice but to cut it all away.

“We are very sad and it’s a big disappointment. It was a great race. We weren’t pushing too hard so we really are very disappointed. But nobody is hurt, we’re OK, so that’s the main thing.

“Sidney was at the navigation station and I was sleeping, but not really sleeping. We both heard this big crack and I asked Sidney, ‘What is that and he told me, ‘I don’t know but it’s a major thing’.

“He had a quick look outside and he told me, ‘It’s the mast, it’s the mast!’

“I said, ‘Oh no, it’s not possible, it’s not the mast.’

“That’s the way it happened…”

Jérémie says the team will attempt to send some video and photos back later in the day.

Updated : 11/12/2007 06:18 GMT
Sylvie Viant, Race Director of the Barcelona World Race, has been notified by skipper Jérémie Beyou onboard the fourth-placed IMOCA 60 Delta Dore that his boat has been dismasted. Both he and co-skipper Sidney Gavignet are unhurt and safe onboard, and the boat itself is structurally intact.The Race Direction Team are in regular contact with the two French sailors Jérémie Beyou and Sidney Gavignet and their shore team headed up by Gilles Chiorri. The skippers have 188 litres of diesel onboard which will provide approximately 60 hours of motoring, the equivalent of approximately 240 miles. The team are also already studying the options of a jury rig using spare mainsail battens onboard. A call with the boat will be planned as soon as is practical.

The exertion of pushing an Open 60 through the Southern Ocean is becoming clear as the race leaders battle through near 40-knot winds and towering seas. Paprec-Virbac 2, with a lead of some 100 miles, has been pushing the boat hard, en-route to a 472-mile day. It’s a fierce pace, but skipper Jean-Pierre Dick insists they’re managing the boat well, and not pressing too hard.

“We’ve had very strong winds, 40 knots, high seas, clouds, very dense, black clouds, it is really very impressive,” he said on the afternoon video conference. “We are trying to make sure that everything is under control and in a few hours we hope to be out of this because it really is quite hard on the boat.”

They can’t let up, because behind them, Veolia Environnement is pushing nearly as hard with a 443-mile day. “We’re still in the depression with 25 to 35 knots,” said skipper Roland Jourdain. “We are trying to limit our speed. It’s easy to get going too fast – say 24 or 25 knots. That’s when we back off in order to manage the boat as well as possible…there is always someone on deck to take a reef in or ease the sheet.”
Image
Niagara Falls on Delta Dore
© Delta Dore

Where the race leaders are sailing it is cold, windy and relentless. Hugo Boss, for example, is reporting sea water temperatures of 4-degrees, which is when ice becomes a possibility. But to this point, none of the boats have reported problems with icebergs or growlers.

Further back boats like Temenos II and Mutua Madrileña face a different set of problems. The different weather circumstances are most starkly illustrated by the mileage made in the past 24 hours by these two, compared to the race leaders; Temenos II has made 299, and Mutua Madrileña 267. So despite heroic efforts, they’re dropping significant miles to the top pack.

“We started sailing upwind yesterday afternoon at around 18:00 and since then we have been close-hauled at 11 knots with winds of between 25 and 34 knots - now we are using the starboard water ballast and the leeward rudder, the keel at 100% to windward the mast at 55 degrees, two reefs and the solent jib,” wrote Mutua Madrileña skipper Javier Sansó in an email to race headquarters this morning.

“We have to go down to 45 south to find downwind conditions again because further north there are only attacking easterlies. And all the while the boat is slamming around so much it could shake the fillings from your teeth. I don’t know if you can imagine what a southerly wind in this part of the planet really means; the Southerly comes straight from the Antarctic; the outside air temperature is 9 degrees and the water 12, which rains down like piercing needles on our faces. The option of becoming a shepherd and having my little herd of sheep under the olive trees is becoming stronger by the day.”

Meanwhile, PRB is drawing closer to making landfall at Cape Town. The French team is out of the race, as it will not be able to effect repairs in time to continue. Behind them, Estrella Damm is also heading to Cape Town – with an ETA of Wednesday evening – where its shore team is preparing to make repairs in an effort to get the boat back onto the race course as quickly as possible.

Day 30 – December 10, 16:00 GMT – Position report with distance to leader

1. PAPREC-VIRBAC 2 - Jean Pierre DICK / Damian FOXALL – 0
2. VEOLIA ENVIRONNEMENT - Roland JOURDAIN / Jean Luc NELIAS - 110
3. HUGO BOSS - Alex THOMSON / Andrew CAPE - 197
4. DELTA DORE - Jérémie BEYOU / Sidney GAVIGNET - 409
5. TEMENOS 2 - Dominique Wavre / Michele PARET- 819
6. MUTUA MADRILENA - Javier SANSO / Pachi RIVERO - 1194
7. PRB - Vincent Riou / Sebastien JOSSE – 1203
8. ESTRELLA DAMM - Guillermo ALTADILL / Jonathan MCKEE - 1430
9. EDUCACION SIN FRONTERAS - Servane ESCOFFIER / Albert BARGUES - 1934

In Quotes – Dominique Wavre, Temenos II: “The sea is choppy, tough on the boats and we are slamming our way through it. It bangs around terribly. The new wind is cold, and any gybe or change to the sail is done under torrents of freezing water, which soaks us from head to toe. We have to quickly change of clothing afterwards or the cold is just too much to bear…There is only one way out for Temenos II and so we have to take it full on, against the waves. Ahead of us the guys will continue to move forward with good wind from behind which is what we have just missed out on.”

Otra dura jornada para el Estrella Damm, pero esta vez por el tener que ver con impotencia como los barcos que le preceden están ya planeando en los 40 rugientes, en busca de la cuarta meta volante, marcada en el cabo Agujas, junto al mítico cabo Buena Esperanza.

Mientras ayer pudo tratar de tú a tú al Hugo Boss, separados ambos por escasas millas en el record de mayor distancia que ayer establecieron, en las últimas 24 horas el Estrella Damm ha navegado 379 millas frente a las 500 del barco británico. 0bviamente, 120 millas suplementarias en un día son fruto de algo más que la habilidad y el coraje de Alex Thomson y Andrew Cape o las buenas prestaciones del Hugo Boss. Así las cosas, Guillermo Altadill y Jonathan McKee deberán tener paciencia hasta que puedan alcanzar la zona de fuertes vientos situada más al Sur.

Guillermo Altadill era muy claro sobre el esfuerzo titánico que junto a Jonathan MaKee están realizando para llevar el Estrella Damm a la máxima velocidad: “En cada planeada el ángulo de viento aparente varía 20 grados, por lo que no podemos usar el modo del piloto automático en ese modo, cuando navegamos en estas condiciones. No es una alternativa a nuestros problemas con los instrumentos de medición de viento (dirección y velocidad), por lo que seguimos haciendo callo en las manos. No se pillaremos el mismo tren de borrascas que los de delante, pero os aseguro que estamos apretando mucho, muchísimo para tratar de no perder ese tren de alta velocidad. De lo contrario, será como ir en uno que para en todas las estaciones y apeaderos. Estamos clavándole las espuelas sin piedad a nuestro caballo”.

Prueba de ello son las 14 millas que ha recortado al Temenos en el último día, ahora sólo 262 millas por delante del Estrella Damm, que se ha convertido junto a las borrascas del Índico Sur, en el punto de mira de Altadill y McKee.

Clasificación Oficial BWR a las 17 horas locales

1- PRB, Vincent Riou / Sebastien Josse, a 18.068 millas de meta

2- Paprec-Virbac, Jean Pierre Dick / Damian Foxall, + 1 millas

3- Veolia Environnement, Roland Jourdain / Jean Luc Nelias, + 122millas

4- Hugo Boss, Alex Thomson / Andrew Cape, +126 millas

5- Delta Dore, Jérémie Beyou / Sidney Gavignet, +282 millas

6- Temenos, Dominique Wavre / Michele Paret, +550 millas

7- ESTRELLA DAMM, Guillermo Altadill / Jonathan McKee, + 811 millas

8- Mutua Madrileña, Javier Sanso / Pachi Rivero, +873 millas

9- Educación Sin Fronteras, Servane Escoffier / Albert Bargues, + 1.534 millas

Carlos Pich

Estrella Damm Sailing Team

Móvil: +34 630 970 235

e-mail: carlospich@roladas.com

Guillermo Altadill y Jonathan McKee han completado 404 millas en 24 horas

Otra fantástica jornada para Guillermo Altadill y Jonathan McKee, en su esfuerzo para reducir distancias con los líderes de la Barcelona World Race. Tras haber adelantado al Mutua Madrileña ayer por la tarde, el Estrella Damm tiene ahora como inmediato objetivo el Temenos 2, de quien ya se mantienen a mantenerse a menos de 300 millas.

El fuerte ritmo que comenzaron a imprimir hace un par de días está exigiendo su máximo esfuerzo y una concentración extrema, pues lo están realizando a base de mantener espís de gran tamaño, que les obliga a timonear manualmente. Si ayer lograron el record de velocidad promedio mantenido durante 30 minutos, hoy se están alternando con el Hugo Boss en el ranking de la máxima distancia recorrida en 24 horas. Los últimos datos, a las 17 horas locales, daban la pole al barco inglés con 411 millas frente a las 404 del Estrella Damm.  

Jonathan McKee comentaba desde el barco esta tarde: “Estamos navegando bien a un ritmo muy alto, a costa de estar cogidos a la caña del timón sin descanso. Navegamos veloces pero sin asumir riesgos, y la ganancia de millas compensa el esfuerzo. No ha sido un sprint salvaje, pues creemos que podemos seguir así más tiempo. Tal vez, cuando el viento comience a entrar más fuerte los espís más pequeños nos permitan ganar fiabilidad con el piloto automático y no agotarnos tanto físicamente. Ahora mucho hay mucha tensión a bordo, mucho estrés, pero controlado. Con Guillermo tenemos una buena actitud para afrontar los problemas y avanzar, me siento muy a gusto”. 

En un avance del artículo que Guillermo Altadill envía semanalmente, escribe sobre su relación con Mckee y las noticias familiares: “Pienso que no hubiera podido encontrar un compañero mejor para esta singladura. Es curioso, en anteriores vueltas al mundo, con trece y quince tripulantes he llegado a sentirme solo hasta la desesperación. En esta regata no me he sentido solo en ningún momento, puede que sea porque no ha habido tiempo. No siento nostalgia, no pienso más que en hacer correr el barco. Es como si hubiera olvidado todo lo que he dejado atrás. La familia y los amigos están desenfocados en mi mente a pesar de que no dejo de pensar en ellos. Amaya me ha dicho que Miguel, nuestro hijo pequeño, ya anda. Es un luchador nato. Se lo he dicho a Jonathan, y el también se ha emocionado. La noticia me ha sentado como una inyección de adrenalina, he sentido un deseo incontenible de abrazar a Jonathan y echarme a llorar, pero he preferido abstenerme, en regatas de este tipo es mejor evitar el contacto físico por lo que pueda pasar…”

Clasificación Oficial BWR a las 17 horas locales

1- PRB, Vincent Riou / Sebastien Josse, a 18.494 millas de meta

2- Paprec-Virbac, Jean Pierre Dick / Damian Foxall, + 38 millas

3- Veolia Environnement, Roland Jourdain / Jean Luc Nelias, + 170 millas

4- Hugo Boss, Alex Thomson / Andrew Cape, +201 millas

5- Delta Dore, Jérémie Beyou / Sidney Gavignet, +297 millas

6- Temenos, Dominique Wavre / Michele Paret, +488 millas

7- ESTRELLA DAMM, Guillermo Altadill / Jonathan McKee, + 764 millas

8- Mutua Madrileña, Javier Sanso / Pachi Rivero, +817 millas

9- Educación Sin Fronteras, Servane Escoffier / Albert Bargues, + 1.386 millas

Carlos Pich

Estrella Damm Sailing Team

Móvil: +34 630 970 235

e-mail: carlospich@roladas.com

As November turns to December, the entire Barcelona World Race fleet has passed the third scoring gate at Fernando de Nornoha and is settling in for a quick reach south to the ‘Roaring Forties’.

PRB with skippers Vincent Riou and Seb Josse were first to the gate, but it didn’t take long for Paprec-Virbac 2 to fight back and reclaim the race lead. In fact, on Day 20 of the Barcelona World Race, there are still three very close ‘races within the race’ being contested.

At the head of the fleet, Paprec-Virbac 2 is holding a narrow lead over PRB. Behind them, the surging Veolia Environnement is established with a firm grip on third place. Then, another very close race for fourth place is taking place between Hugo Boss and Delta Dore. And don’t think that because this is a 25 000 mile marathon around the planet, that the crews aren’t concerned about each place they gain.

“(It) gives you motivation just sailing straight past somebody when there is nothing they can do about it,” were the comments from a very pleased Alex Thomson moments after his Hugo Boss passed Delta Dore. “This boat has a tremendous amount of righting momentum, the conditions in the race so far haven’t allowed us to prove what she can do. I had always hoped she would be fast in these conditions, we expected her to be fast in these conditions. I can tell you it is a massive, massive pleasure to be able to sail past someone like that!”

The third close match-up is between Dominique Wavre’s Temenos II and the surprisingly resilient Mutua Madrileña. The Spanish boat is of a 2003 vintage, so the fact that skippers Javier Sansó and Pachi Rivero were able to post the third fastest elapsed time for stage three is impressive.

“We know we have a fast boat downwind and we’re pushing really hard – I don’t think we could push harder – and we’ve been under spinnaker for most of the stage, so we have really been trying,” explained Sansó. “But when we get into the reaching conditions, we suffer a bit compared to the newer boats.”

In contrast, Estrella Damm has had a tough week, falling further behind the fleet as a variety of challenges conspired to see them drop further behind the leaders. Their crossing of the doldrums was particularly painful as this email from Jonathan McKee illustrates.

“All last night there was basically no wind. It’s pretty unusual to be going so slowly for so long, even in the Doldrums. It just all seems a bit surreal to be honest. At the moment we’re just watching everyone else sail away and we’re just sitting here and there’s almost nothing we can do. We thought we were through it yesterday morning and then we thought we were through it again this morning but now it looks like we’re going to be stuck here even longer…We’re not through it yet.”

But eventually, Estrella Damm did break free and is now making good speed, along with the rest of the fleet, on the sprint to the south. The fourth stage of the race is the descent to the southern ocean and the ‘Roaring Forties’ where the low pressure systems rumble around the bottom of the planet.

But before getting there, they’ll have to tackle the St. Helena High, an area of notoriously light winds that typically blocks the direct route to Cape Town, forcing the teams to stay further west, closer to South America. The first teams to get south and into the Roaring Forties will enjoy their first taste of Southern Ocean conditions – strong winds from behind, big swells to surf and high mileage days. The race is on!

Stage 3 (Canaries to Fernando de Noronha) ranking and elapsed time

1. PRB – 8D 07H 14M
2. Veolia Environnement – 8D 09H 24M
3. Mutua Madrileña - 8D 10H 06M
4. Paprec-Virbac 2 – 8D 13H 03M
5. Temenos II - 8D 15H 50M
6. Hugo Boss – 8D 16H 03M
7. Delta Dore - 8D 16H 56M
8. Educación Sin Fronteras – 8D 16H 58M
9. Estrella Damm - 9D 07H 29M

Day 20 – November 20, 15:45 GMT – Position report with distance to leader

1. PAPREC-VIRBAC 2 - Jean Pierre DICK / Damian FOXALL - 0.0
2. PRB - Vincent Riou / Sebastien JOSSE - 8.7
3. VEOLIA ENVIRONNEMENT - Roland JOURDAIN / Jean Luc NELIAS - 170.6
4. HUGO BOSS - Alex THOMSON / Andrew CAPE - 307.6
5. DELTA DORE - Jérémie BEYOU / Sidney GAVIGNET - 330.2
6. TEMENOS 2 - Dominique Wavre / Michele PARET- 413.0
7. MUTUA MADRILENA - Javier SANSO / Pachi RIVERO - 448.4
8. ESTRELLA DAMM - Guillermo ALTADILL / Jonathan MCKEE - 607.6
9. EDUCACION SIN FRONTERAS - Servane ESCOFFIER / Albert BARGUES - 842.9

oldrums

24 November 2007

As expected, the northeast trade winds are shooting the Barcelona World Race fleet down toward the doldrums at great speed. Most boats are averaging well over 15 knots as they hurtle towards the next obstacle nature has put in front of them.

Although trade wind sailing is often described as ‘champagne sailing’ with strong, steady winds on the aft quarter allowing fast reaching under sunny skies, not many of the Barcelona World Race skippers would describe it quite that way.
These powerful IMOCA Open 60’s are being pushed harder than ever with each boat spurred on by its neighbour into sailing faster and faster. The result is some tired and stressed sailors, who are hand steering boats carrying more sail area than is strictly sensible.

“We were playing on the edge of the limits of the boat so it was quite stressful last night,” confessed Sidney Gavignet from Delta Dore this afternoon. “But the conditions are great - when you’re going between 20 and 23 knots with a river of water pouring down the decks it’s fantastic. But it is stressful as you want to be sure you’ re going to finish the race.”

Further back in the fleet, Estrella Damm skipper Guillermo Altadill revealed his boat had been dealing with a litany of problems over the past few days but were now back on track and sailing at full power. His co-skipper, Jonathan McKee, described what life is like when things go wrong:

“It’s been a pretty full on 24 hours and honestly it’s been over 20 knots for more than 24 hours now which means you have to hand steer and you get a lot less sleep and a lot less other things done. That part takes its toll.when something goes wrong all of a sudden your life changes completely and it’s just a major, major problem,” he says. “In our case we have a sail up there that we can’t get down. You realise just how precarious of a position you are in when five minutes before, everything seemed totally under control. Things can go bad in a hurry.  It’s just a very delicate game. The loads are pretty big. It puts the human in the way of a lot of power so you have to be pretty careful.”

Day 14 - November 24, 16:00 GMT - Position report with distance to leader

1. PAPREC-VIRBAC 2 - Jean Pierre DICK / Damian FOXALL - 0.0
2. PRB - Vincent Riou / Sebastien JOSSE - 50.8
3. VEOLIA ENVIRONNEMENT    - Roland JOURDAIN / Jean Luc NELIAS - 110.7
4. DELTA DORE - Jérémie BEYOU / Sidney GAVIGNET - 178.2
5. HUGO BOSS - Alex THOMSON / Andrew CAPE - 230.3
6. MUTUA MADRILENA - Javier SANSO / Pachi RIVERO     - 261.7
7. TEMENOS 2 - Dominique Wavre / Michele PARET - 291.1
8. ESTRELLA DAMM - Guillermo ALTADILL / Jonathan MCKEE - 317.1
9. EDUCACION SIN FRONTERAS - Servane ESCOFFIER / Albert BARGUES - 650.8

In Quotes - Servanne Escoffier, Educación sin Fronteras: “Great conditions - 20 to 24 knots, under spinnaker. We had a problem with the big spinnaker this morning when the boat hit a wave and slowed down. The spinnaker loaded up and burst. So we’re sailing now with the smaller s pinnaker. We’ll be at the Cape Verde islands in less than 24 hours and then heading south to the doldrums.”

An interview with Estrella Damm’s Jonathan McKee:

“It has been tough for the last four days to be honest. We’ve been trying to be disciplined with our routing and our navigation and trusting the information, but for whatever reason it hasn’t been working out that well, particularly with our little gamble with the Western Sahara. Unfortunately other guys went to the same place and did fine. We’re trying not to take it personally. Lately we’ve been just doing the same game plan, but it has been working out better. Tactically we’ve been making gains. I guess it’s just the nature of the game. Predicating what the wind is going to do is a pretty inexact science, probably more so when you have a sailor trying to interpret the data.

“We’re feeling pretty good about our position relative to the fleet and we’ll see how it goes over the next few days.

“We also had some issue on board sail handling wise that have cost us some time and also took a lot of energy to sort out. To a slight extent these issues have diminished our capabilities for the future but we’re trying to do what we can to mitigate that. We’ve fixed most things and are on our way to fixing the rest.

“We may be down a sail but at the moment, looking forward, it’s not one of our critical sails. We’re just going to carry on and forget that it ever happened. Take the lessons from it and move on.

“It feels great after day after day of losses, to actually have some gains is a pleasant thing. We’ve been working hard and when it’s not rewarded it’s tough, but when it is rewarded it feels great. Part of it might be an issue of the other guys positioning themselves more to the west and taking a little bit of hit on the ‘distance to the finish’ measurement, but that all depends on the shift, but at the moment we’re happy to interpret it as we’re going well.”

Jonathan has passed through the Cape Verde Islands before as part of the Mini-Transat when he was alone and on a boat the third the size. He explains how this passage has been different:

“It has been totally different. Not only has the weather been completely different, but also I’m on a much bigger, more powerful boat, sailing with two instead of one. I really enjoy the double handed, I think it’s the future. It just makes so much more sense than single handed for me. These are big powerful boats, there’s no questions about that, it’s a lot of boat even for two people, you just have to be smart about how you do things, and pace yourself and take things carefully.

“Strangely enough we’re passing right through the same part of the Cape Verde’s that I passed through four years ago so certainly there’s a bit of deja vu there.”

Last night Guillermo and Jonathan found themselves on the foredeck as they struggled to free a stuck sail.

“It’s been a pretty full on 24 hours and honestly it’s been over 20 knots for more than 24 hours now which means you have to hand steer so you get a lot less sleep and a lot less other things done so that part takes its toll. When things are going well it’s not so bad you’re kind cruising along its still hard work. But when something goes wrong all of a sudden your life changes completely and it’s just a major, major problem.

In our case we have a sail up there that we can’t get down. You realise just how precarious of a position you are in when five minutes before, everything seemed totally under control. Things can go bad in a hurry. It’s just a very delicate game. The loads are pretty big. It puts the human in the way of a lot of power so you have to be pretty careful.”

After a hard fight last night, the team has managed to get a few hours sleep to recover

“We took the very end of the night, we put up a smaller sail, because we had some repairs to do before we put a proper gennaker back up again. I slept for about three hours, got up at sunrise I was able to do what was necessary to put the gennaker back up and we’ve been running with it all day. Sometimes you need to just step back and take the time needed to recharge your batteries before you can think and act properly again. You get so exhausted after an incident like that. The whole time I was sleeping Guillermo was up on deck dealing with things on his own so he hasn’t had much rest today. He’s still a little bit behind so I suspect the responsibility will fall a little bit more on me tonight.”

For emergency use, Estrella Damm is equipped with a small alarm button at the helm station that when pressed, will wake up the sailor who is sleeping down below.

“The alarm button has become a critical part of our operation, that thing is great! We respect each others rest a lot and you use it when you really need to. You have to put some clothes on before you can come on deck, so you can’t instantly expect help, so you need to plan ahead 10-15 minutes if you can.”

In between the hardships of the last 24 hours the team have made a conscious effort to make sure their bodies are well fuelled.

“We’re quite conscious of [getting sleep and food]. We’re trying to continue to eat and drink water, as those are two critical things. Sleep, eat, drink; without that you’re body doesn’t function.

“Stepping back a bit, it is fantastic sailing here. 18-25 knots downwind, big waves, classic heavy air trade winds sailing in a great downwind boat, so we’re lucky to be here if you just step way from it a little bit you can see that.”

Once in the Canary Islands, 30 miles to left of right made all the difference in the positioning of the boats. Estrella Damm suffered a spate of bad luck after crossing the gate just before the Canary’s and in an email sent back to shore Jonathan explained that he was disappointed and frustrated…

Sao Paolo, November 13 2007 - After Torben Grael stepped onboard last
month as the skipper of Ericsson’s international crew for the next
Volvo Ocean Race, the team now announces Brazilians João Signorini
and Horacio Carabelli as new crewmembers.

The 2008-2009 race will be the second time around for Signorini and
Carabelli. The sailors finished third in the latest edition of the
race under Torben Grael’s command. João Signorini, in Brazil known as
Joca, spent most part of his career competing in the Laser class
before moving to Finn in 2002. Only a few months later he was
qualified to the Athens Olympics and ended up in the 10th place at
the Games. A doctor’s son, Signorini was also the medic onboard
Brazil 1 during the last race.

“It is an honor to join the Ericsson Racing Team for the next Volvo
Ocean Race. I have had a chance to see the great structure they put
together for the race and I look forward to facing this new
challenge. It is great to have another chance of racing with Torben”,
said the 30-year old sailor.

Born in Uruguay, Horacio Carabelli has been living in Brazil for more
than 20 years now. The naval constructor was the technical director
of the Brazilian project boat for the last Volvo Ocean Race and
earned his spot in the crew due to his solid sailing background.
Carabelli is two-time Snipe world junior champion, competed in Seoul
Olympic Games in 1988 and last year added an America’s Cup campaign
to his career.

“I am very happy to be a part of such a strong team. I would not go
for another shot at this competition in any other way. I want to
collaborate as much as I can and help the team achieving its goal”,
said Carabelli.

Announced as the skipper of the international boat last month, Torben
celebrates the arrival of two countrymen onboard.

“It is a great joy to welcome two great sailors like Joca and Horacio
on the team. They are both extremely talented and my good friends. We
worked together in the last race and I am sure they will do a good
job again. I believe they will fit very well with the strong team
already in place”, commented Torben.

The Ericsson Racing Team is currently based at their training base in
Puerto Calero, Lanzarote, Spain. The team will participate with two
boats in the next Volvo Ocean Race. One will have an international
crew and the other will be all Nordic. The two crews will compete on
an equal basis. Both boats are being built by Killian Bushe next to
Ericsson’s headquarters in Kista, Stockholm. Two competitive crews
will allow Ericsson Racing Team to train efficiently before the start
of Volvo Ocean Race in Alicante, Spain, in October, 2008.

Ericsson’s participation in the Volvo Ocean Race is a platform for
driving sales. The race gives the company an unrivalled opportunity
to reach customers around the world, spend quality time discussing
joint opportunities and challenges, as well as showcasing how
Ericsson’s solutions can help them develop relationships with
enterprises and consumers.

With the new race course taking the fleet to stops in the Middle
East, India and China, Ericsson will be able to reach further into
these important growth regions.

Notes to Editors
For updates and pictures on the Ericsson Racing Team’s participation
in the Volvo Ocean Race, please visit www.ericssonracingteam.com.
Broadcast material with interviews and the latest footage of the team
sailing is available for download on:
www.thenewsmarket.com/volvooceanrace

Ericsson is shaping the future of Mobile and Broadband Internet
communications through its continuous technology leadership.
Providing innovative solutions in more than 140 countries, Ericsson
is helping to create the most powerful communication companies in the
world.

Read more at http://www.ericsson.com/press

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Ola Rembe
VP Communications, Ericsson Racing Team
Phone: SE SE +46 730244873 Call
Email: ola.rembe@ericsson.com

Mats Olsson
Ericsson Racing Team
Phone: SE +46 706336130 Call
Email: mats.olsson@ericssonracingteam.com

This press release was brought to you by Ericsson Racing Team.

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