Newsletter July/August 2008
Welcome to the July/August edition of the Volvo Ocean Race newsletter. It’s all about training, training, training this month as the start looms ever nearer. Enjoy this roundup of news and views.
Team News
On Friday 27 June, the Green Team was officially re-named after securing title sponsorship from a syndicate of Chinese companies. The team is now officially known as The Green Dragon Team and the team livery will be unveiled over the coming weeks. The team already holds strong Chinese links with construction of the boat taking place at McConaghy Boats in Zhuhai. It is the first Volvo Open 70 boat to be built in China.
Read more: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/news/article/2008/june/stepforwardgreendragon/
Crew News
Two offshore specialists who have long associations with the Whitbread/Volvo have signed on for duty in the 2008-09 race. Sweden’s Roger Nilson has been announced as a navigator with the Telefonica team, while, the Green Dragon team has bolstered its crew experience with the addition of Neal McDonald.
Read more: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/news/article/2008/july/nilsonmcdonald/
Telefonica has announced two more crew members - the experienced South African Jono Swain and Spanish debutant Javier de la Plaza.
More: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/news/article/2008/july/swainsights/
Port News
The Extreme 40 Series will be part of the on-the-water entertainment package at selected stopovers during the 2008-09 race. The Extreme 40s will feature in Alicante, Singapore, Qingdao, Boston and Stockholm with fleets of up to 10 boats.
http://www.volvooceanrace.org/news/article/2008/july/x40atstopovers/
Media news
Television coverage of the 2008-09 race will ensure exposure in more than 180 countries following agreement on a number of distribution deals. Those packages include a tie-up with Gillette World Sport, a programme carried by 200 broadcasters worldwide. “Television distribution of the Volvo Ocean Race programming is well advanced,” said Executive Editor Harold Anderson.
http://www.volvooceanrace.org/news/article/2008/july/tvcoverage/
Records tumbled at the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship, held in Arhus, Denmark in July. Great Britain secured the Volvo Trophy and a new generation of sailing stars emerged in Arhus, Denmark.
Pavlos Kontides (CYP) became the first ever two-time winner of the ISAF St Lawrence Trophy, presented to the winner of the Boy’s One Person Dinghy event – an incredible achievement considering the sailors to have come closest to it in the past (by winning one gold and one silver medal). These include Russell Coutts (NZL), Ben Ainslie (GBR), Dean Barker (NZL) and Dan Slater (NZL).
http://www.volvooceanrace.org/news/article/2008/july/youthworldsday5/
Mark Rudiger
Mark Rudiger, one of the world’s greatest offshore navigators and a veteran of three Whitbread/Volvo Ocean Races has died, aged 53. Rudiger was recently hospitalized at Kaiser Hospital in California following complications due to a relapse of cancer. He was first stricken with lymphoma in 2004 but recovered to continue his career.
In a highly-successful round-the-world sailing career, ‘Rudi’ guided Paul Cayard’s EF Language to victory in the 1997-98 Whitbread and was second as co-skipper on Assa Abloy in the 2001-02 Volvo.
Read more: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/news/article/2008/july/rudisrarequalities/
http://www.volvooceanrace.org/news/article/2008/july/markrudiger/
Issue 28 Life at the Extreme
This bumper edition of Life at the Extreme is out now and contains all you need to know about the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race, the teams taking part and the challenges they will face.
Available on subscription: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/booksanddvds/magazine/.
Bundled with Seahorse and downloadable from the home page of the official website, you can’t afford to miss it.
Official Souvenir Programme
The official programme is nearly finished. Buy now to avoid disappointment. Look for a high end, premium product to give to all your customers and staff. Not to be missed. Available in September.
To order your copies in bulk, go to:
www.volvooceanrace.org/programmeorders.htm
Podcast
Catch up with all the latest news on our fortnightly podcast by logging on to:
http://www.volvooceanrace.org/podcast/
For media information on the Volvo Ocean Race, please contact
Lizzie Ward (Green), Press Officer
Tel: +44 1489 554832 Mob: +44 7801 185 320
Email: lizzie.ward@volvooceanrace.org