ABN AMRO One first into Cape Town

Volvo Open 70 ABN AMRO ONE is escoirted into port by spectator boats after crossing the finish line to win Leg 1 from Vigo to Capetown © David Branigan

Mike Sanderson & crew top Volvo Ocean Race leaderboard

ABN AMRO ONE sailed to victory in the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race as they crossed the finish line below Table Mountain in first place today at 15:25hrs (local time). 49 miles ahead of second placed boat, ABN AMRO TWO, the crew celebrated what looks to be an impressive first and second for TEAM ABN AMRO. The victory puts ABN AMRO ONE at the top of the leader board with eight legs remaining.

Arriving to huge crowds at the Victoria & Albert Waterfront in Cape Town, the crew were reunited with family and friends after completing an action-packed 19 days and 6,400 nautical miles at sea. The first leg, which saw Pirates of the Caribbean and movistar retire after just 24 hours of racing, proved that ABN AMRO’s brand new, Juan Kouyoumdjian designed, 70 foot racing machines are capable of incredible speeds and endurance. The climax of the leg came last Sunday when both ABN AMRO ONE and TWO broke the 24 hour world speed record with ABN AMRO ONE clocking an incredible 546 miles in 24 hours.

Speaking from the boat, seconds after crossing the finishing line, ABN AMRO ONE Skipper, Mike Sanderson said, “This is a great feeling and it’s been an unbelievable leg. There was a lot said about our boats, especially after the in-port race, but this has proved to everyone that these machines are capable of something special. Tactically, it all went to plan – we knew we were taking a risk by heading so far west in the Southern Atlantic, but we picked up some great winds during the latter part of the leg and after some fairly stressful moments, it thankfully all paid off.”

“The team spirit has been fantastic and I’m so proud of all the guys. We’ve been pushed hard by our other boat, but it’s awesome to see how well they’ve done too. Between us we clocked some pretty amazing speeds out there and the world record was definitely the icing on the cake. The scary thing is that if you ask any of the crew they’ll all tell you that she is still capable of a lot more – and that’s the difficulty, knowing when to ease off. Although we’ve won this leg we’re all very conscious that there’s still a long way to go in this race, and as we’ve already seen, anything can happen. For the moment though, we’re just looking forward to seeing our families, getting some sleep and grabbing a cold beer!”

Leg one of the 2005-2006 Volvo Ocean Race presented crews with one of the most dramatic starts in the history of the race. Severe conditions during the first 36 hours caused substantial damage to much of the fleet, including ABN AMRO ONE, who lost their port-side steering pedestal and had a fire in the hold, caused by a short circuit.

Having kept the boat in one piece and experiencing some exhilarating downwind sailing, ABN AMRO ONE first pulled into the lead on Wednesday 16th November which they held through the Doldrums, before rounding the scoring gate at Fernando de Noronha and collecting 3.5 points.

Now lying in pole position with 11.5 points, ABN AMRO ONE will be looking to build upon this performance when they embark on the second leg to Melbourne on January 2nd, which will see them encountering the notoriously harsh Southern Ocean.

* All records subject to confirmation and ratification by the World Sailing Speed Record Council.