Irish Olympic hero and Kiwi offshore racer to join Turn the Tide on Plastic

Leg Zero, Turn The Tide on Plastic in Cascais: Corporative Sailing and Inshore training © Ugo Fonolla / Volvo Ocean Race

Turn the Tide on Plastic have announced two more female sailors for their Volvo Ocean Race campaign – Irish Olympic silver medallist Annalise Murphy and New Zealand's Bianca Cook.

Both under 30, the pair join skipper Dee Caffari's mixed and youth-focused campaign after successful trials, and take the total number of confirmed sailors in their squad to 10 with just 44 days to go until the start of the race.

"Annalise and Bianca both add strength to the squad and are developing quickly," said Caffari. "Coming from an Olympic background, Annalise's strength and racing skills are obvious, but she is still learning about life offshore, whereas Bianca has lots of big boat experience and is very comfortable offshore."

Leg Zero, Turn The Tide on Plastic in Cascais: Corporative Sailing and Inshore training - photo © Ugo Fonolla / Volvo Ocean Race

She added: "The Volvo Ocean Race will certainly offer a challenge, but it's one that they're certainly up for. It's a pleasure to see them loving every day on the boat."

Dublin-born Murphy, 27, took silver in the Laser Radial class at Rio 2016, and was recently named Irish Times/Sport Ireland's Sportswoman of the Year.

"The jump from Olympic inshore sailing to professional offshore sailing is a big one," said Murphy. "I am expecting this race to be the toughest thing I have ever done both mentally and physically but I also can't wait for it to start."

Leg Zero, training on board Turn the Tide on Plastic - photo © Jeremie Lecaudey / Volvo Ocean Race

New Zealand's Cook, 28, has accumulated over 70,000 offshore miles in the last few years. "Coming from Auckland, I've grown up watching the Volvo Ocean Race teams and I can't believe that I'll get to be one of those sailors," she said. "To be given this chance and to have earned my place is a dream come true."

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Corporate sailing and training before Leg 1 on board Turn the Tide on Plastic - photo © Jeremie Lecaudey / Volvo Ocean Race

Turn the Tide on Plastic will amplify UN Environment's Clean Seas campaign in 2017-18. The new recruits join a multinational squad led by Caffari (GBR) and featuring Australia's Liz Wardley and Lucas Chapman; Italy's Francesca Clapcich; Britons Bleddyn Mon and Henry Bomby, and Portuguese sailors Frederico Pinheiro de Melo and Bernardo Freitas.

The team are currently making their final preparations in Cascais, Portugal. All boats will head to the Volvo Ocean Race Boatyard in Lisbon by 18 September 2017 for final maintenance checks ahead of a non-scoring Prologue stage from Lisbon to Alicante ahead of the start of the 83,000 km race.

The race begins from Alicante, Spain on 22 October and will visit a further 11 Host Cities around the world – stopping at Lisbon, Cape Town, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Auckland, Itajaí, Newport, Cardiff and Gothenburg – before a big finish in The Hague in summer 2018.