World first for Team Abn Amro and championship wakeboarder
by Kate Fairclough 28 Oct 2005 17:29 BST
Champion wakeboarder, Dan Nott being towed by Volvo Ocean Race yacht Abn Amro One © Chris Ison
Champion wakeboarder, Dan Nott achieved a world first today by becoming the fastest wakeboarder to be towed by a Volvo 70 racing yacht. Dan achieved speeds up to 20 knots as he was towed by ABN AMRO ONE, one of ABN AMRO’s two boats entering the Volvo Ocean Race.
Towed by a rope led from the top of the 30 metre mast, Dan reached high speeds just off the coast of Sanxenxo during the training session. Dan also attempted several tricks and jumps including the wakeboarding signature trick, the air-raley, back roll and a back roll to revert whilst contending with the rolling swell and choppy water.
The event was part of skipper, Mike Sanderson’s last minute training for the Volvo Ocean Race which kicks off with the first in-port race in Sanxenxo on 5th November, followed by the start of the first leg from Vigo to Cape Town on 12th November. ABN AMRO is entering two boats in the race; ABN AMRO ONE, skippered by Mike Sanderson with a crew of some of the best ocean sailors in the world today, and ABN AMRO TWO, skippered by Frenchman Sebastien Josse and crewed by a team of ‘high potential’ sailors.
On completing the ride Dan said, “That was some brilliant boarding. It was a real challenge as it was so much choppier than I would usually ride in, but I still managed to pull off some good tricks. These boats are awesome machines and can manage some incredible speeds. It’s cool to do something a bit different, and boarding behind a massive yacht is something new for me!”
Skipper of ABN AMRO ONE, Mike Sanderson said, “The team have worked very hard over the last months so it was great to take a bit of time out from training and get Dan up behind the boat. It looked like it was pretty tough for him but he got some good air and it was awesome to watch.”