No stone left unturned for SEB in Volvo Ocean Race Legends Race

SEB battles towards Hobart on Leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2001-02 © Oskar Kihlborg

Volvo Ocean 60, former SEB has confirmed her entry into the Legends Race, which starts from Gothenburg on 21 June this year, and finishes in The Hague.

After a disappointing showing for her super-professional team in the Volvo Ocean Race 2001-02, no stone will be left unturned in the preparation for the Legends Race this summer. SEB is now named 'OSPA' and owned by SAILUTION company in Germany.

After a lack-lustre performance on Leg 1, it was on Leg 2, through the Southern Ocean from Cape Town to Sydney, that became the highpoint of the race for the team, when they snatched the 24-hour world record from News Corp, covering 460.4 nm at an average speed 19.1 knots.

The leg was also notable for the absence of Dutch navigator Marcel van Trieste, who on hearing news of his mother's death, had jumped overboard to be picked up by a RIB as the boat rounded Eclipse Island, near to the coast of Australia. Having safely dispatched their navigator, the team was still in the lead when a fresh breeze filled in and the fleet took off. The boat broached wildly, costing the crew a masthead spinnaker and the lead. They were eventually beaten by German yacht illbruck into Sydney by just a few hours.

It was on Leg 3 when disaster struck for the first time. The rudder ripped out of the boat, leaving a gaping hole. It was unclear at the time why the rudder broke away, but it was most likely the result of hitting a submerged object. The damage forced Krantz and his crew to retire from the leg and return to Australia for repairs.

Taking full responsibility for the construction of its own boat, SEB had rented space in a boatyard in Stockholm and hired New Zealanders Richard Gillies and Tim Smythe to take charge. Like the majority of the fleet, SEB was from the board of Farr Yacht Design, but she was not, however, quite like the majority of the fleet. While the underwater profile was similar, the deck layout was unlike every Volvo Ocean 60 that had gone before. In place of the single, centrally located main hatch, SEB had two smaller hatches set on either side, which was significant when, on Leg 3, day 12, deep in the Southern Ocean, SEB broached and the boat rounded violently into the wind.

The standard practise onboard was to keep the windward hatch open for ventilation and the leeward hatch closed. As the boat spun to windward, the open hatch, now on the leeward side, allowed a massive amount of seawater to rush below. The boat stayed on her side for what seemed like minutes before the mast finally broke eight feet above the deck and, for the second leg in a row, SEB was forced to retire. Krantz and his team were crushed. SEB made her way to South America under jury rig.

It didn't end there. On Leg 5, the team was protested by the Race Committee relating to the damage SEB had inflicted on herself when colliding with illbruck at the beginning of the leg. Although she performed the customary 720-degree turn, admitting the fault, a hearing by the international jury was scheduled. To the relief of the team, the protest was thrown out.

Two-time Olympic gold medallist Mark Reynolds joined the team for Leg 6, and on Leg 7, illbruck finally deposed SEB of her world-record run, when she set a new record 24-hour run of 484-nm. SEB eventually finished in seventh place overall.

Today she is used for team training and offshore sailing education with two other Volvo Ocean 60s, illbruck and Toshiba. The fleet is based in the Baltic port of Rostock-Warnemunde.

Each winter she has been refitted in Germany and in 2017, she broke the 16-year-old record of the Round Bornholm Race, Germany. She will be seriously competitive.

About SEB
Class: Volvo Ocean 60
Designer: Farr Yacht Design
Rig: Fractional sloop
LOA: 64' (19.4m)
Crew: 12

Results
Seventh Volvo Ocean Race
Best result: Second Leg 2
Skipper: Gunnar Krantz SWE

Notice of Race is here