Volvo Ocean Race - Tyco Announces Entry
by Lizzie Green 22 Nov 2000 15:59 GMT
Tyco has confirmed its entry in the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race starting from
Southampton on September 23rd 2001.
Tyco, a diversified manufacturing and service company headquartered in
Bermuda, will use the this truly global event as a platform to stage an
extensive in-house marketing campaign for it's employees and customers, as
well as strengthening brand recognition. Michael Castania from Tyco will
head the syndicate, while New Zealander Kevin Shoebridge, will be the
skipper of the boat.
Shoebridge has competed in the last four Whitbread Round the World races
with both Sir Peter Blake (Lion New Zealand and Steinlager 2) and Grant
Dalton (New Zealand Endeavour and Merit Cup). He has also been a member of
Team New Zealand and competed in the last four America's Cups.
The sailing and shore teams are almost complete with 18 appointments made
to date. Shoebridge has drawn heavily on past Whitbread experience with a
mix of young talent to make up the sailing team, whilst the shore team will
be led by Mick Harvey, who brings a wealth of experience to this side of
the operation. Team Tyco exemplifies the "team" concept and each member of
the team is encouraged to contribute and share lessons learnt from past
campaigns, capitalising on the vast experience and knowledge within the
team.
"We believe that this approach has given us the opportunity to channel this
pool of experience to enhance and influence important design and
construction decisions. Attention to detail and having time to consider all
options could become crucial later in the race," says Shoebridge
The V.O. 60, Merit Cup, was purchased in April this year, and the team has
spent the last four and a half months sailing out of Newport, Rhode Island.
This time has been used to build and assemble the team as well as test
sails and evaluate the new carbon fibre mast.
" Team Tyco has made some very impressive gains, Kevin Shoebridge has done
a great job recruiting and our training sessions this year have produced a
very keen and talented group of professionals," commented Castania. " With
North Sails we have a strong sail programme and have benefited greatly from
sailing early with our the first of our three carbon masts which have been
supplied by Southern Spars, Nevada. Given the intense competition, and the
seriousness of the other teams, our gains are extremely important to us."
Farr Yacht Design Ltd from Annapolis has designed Tyco's new V.O.60 race
boat for the Volvo Ocean Race and construction has been under way for the
past two months at Goetz Custom Yachts in Bristol, Rhode Island, USA. Ian
Stewart and Mick Harvey are overseeing the construction.
Tyco's training boat is currently in transit heading towards Sydney where
the team will compete in this year's Telstra Sydney to Hobart classic. Tyco
and at least three other Volvo Ocean Race competitors will then race on to
Auckland and recreate Leg 3 of next year's Volvo race.
Team Tyco will launch their race boat in early March 2001 and embark on a
five-month, two boat testing and racing programme on the East Coast of the
USA before heading to the UK for the start of the race on September 23rd
2001.
Team Tyco's line up:
Kevin Shoebridge Skipper
Steve Hayles Navigator
Brad Jackson
Ian Stewart
Tim Powell
Jonathan Swain
Gerry Mitchell
Jan Dekker
Simon Fry
David Endean
Guy Salter
Mike Castania Team Manager
Mick Harvey Shore Support Manager
Grant Spanhake Sail Programme
Tim Hackett Boat Builder
Richard Searle Rigs
Simon Paul Sail maker
Cole Sheehan Food/Entertainment
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About Tyco
Tyco is a diversified manufacturing and service company headquartered in
Bermuda. It is the world's largest manufacturer and installer of fire and
safety systems, the largest provider of electronic security services in
North America and the United Kingdom, and has strong leadership positions
in disposable medical products, packaging materials, flow control products,
electrical and electronic components and underwater telecommunications
systems. The Company operates in more than 80 countries around the world
and has over 225,000 employees.