Team Delta Lloyd unveils its crew for Volvo Ocean Race

On October 3rd 2008, Team Delta Lloyd unveiled its international crew for the first stage of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09. Skipper Ger O’Rourke (IRL) and his team made it happen within three months. All the hard work and full commitment of everyone brought the eighth entry to the start of this unique opportunity. The renewed Delta Lloyd VO 70, former ABN AMRO One, is ready to sail and takes on the challenge. The two scheduled In-Port races are to be sailed on Saturday October 4th 2008 and can be followed live on www.volvooceanrace.org

The final sprint to meet the first deadline of October 3rd was intensive. Within three weeks, the Delta Lloyd had to be branded, the hydraulics were revised, the new sails arrived, the crew flew to New Castle for the required 2-day Crew Member Safety Training Course and the measurement had to be done. It was the hands on approach that helped the Dutch/Irish syndicate through the whole process. Although there was not much time left for practicing on the water, coach Maurice Paardenkooper (NED) and his panel were able to come up with a high level formation. The squad brings the experience of six Volvo Ocean Races onboard. Paardenkooper: “According to the rule, the offshore crew has to include fifty percent of the sailors who did the qualifier. With that in mind, I already made a short-list based on certain criteria. We also looked at technical skills that are necessary onboard, since you need to be self-supporting out on the ocean. And today, I pushed the guys hard to decide on the last question marks.”

On October 11th, the following persons will line up for the first leg to Cape Town:

Ger O’Rourke (IRL), skipper
Stuart Wilson (NZL), watch captain
Stuart Molloy (NZL), watch captain
Gerd-Jan Poortman (NED)
Ed van Lierde (NED)
Bert Schandevyl (BEL)
Matthew Gregory (USA)
Edwin O’Connor (IRL)
Martin Watts (GBR)
Ryan Houston (NZL)
Sander Pluijm (NED), Media Crew Member

Seb Col at helm for In-Port Race

For the In-Port Race on October 4th, boat captain Mark Tighe (IRL) and helmsman Sebastian Col (FRA) will be added to this list. Col is an experienced match racer. He just won the Troia Portugal Match Cup 2008 as skipper of the French Match Racing Team / K-Challenge. Ed Hill (GBR) and Sander Speet (NED) won’t be competing onboard of the Delta Lloyd until Cape Town, but they remain part of the campaign. Paardenkooper: “We will offer them another position within the team and meanwhile we will continue the training with. There are always drop outs later on in the race, so you need to have a well prepared back up. And it is a growing campaign.”

Skipper O’Rourke about the tough decision to leave his good friend Tighe behind in Alicante: “That is sad. The best sailors make the boat go faster. Now, it is up to Mark to prove that I and Maurice were wrong. He has that opportunity during the In-Port Race.”

Media Crew Member announced

Sander Pluijm (NED) is going to be Team Delta Lloyd’s Media Crew Member. “This job brings my two passions together and as a sailor I would have never made it to the Volvo Ocean Race”, said Pluijm. As senior editor at Endemol in the Netherlands, Pluijm is responsible for ‘infotainment’. That means television entertainment with content. His programs tell a story. In the next ten months, he is going to tell the story about one of the toughest ocean races in the world.

In addition to title sponsor Delta Lloyd, the Dutch/Irish syndicate is also supported by Chieftain Group, Tommy Hilfiger, OHRA Verzekeringen, Port of Rotterdam, Weather News and Hemels van der Hart.