Team Delta Lloyd-Volvo Ocean Race
Leg 2 Volvo Ocean Race departed Cape Town for Cochin, India on Sunday 15th November
Delta Lloyd's late show
Dave Kneale / Volvo Ocean Race
Monday 03 November 2008 23:15 GMT
Ger O’Rourke’s Delta Lloyd arrived in Cape Town at 23:03 GMT on Monday night (or 01:03 Tuesday morning, local time) to claim seventh place in leg one of the Volvo Ocean Race.
The last couple of miles took longer than expected – what had been a strong evening breeze suddenly eased with the team just a couple of miles from the finish line. But eventually, after a painful final hour, Delta Lloyd crossed the line, and claimed two leg scoring points.
Attention will now turn to a long job list for the shore team. As a last-minute entry, the Delta Lloyd team had to scramble to make the start, but has impressed with a solid performance on the first leg. Now, the next race is to get the boat ready for leg two, as navigator Matt Gregory confirmed dockside in Cape Town. Everyone is tired, but there's not much time on the schedule to relax.
“No rest at all. We’ve broken some things and we have a big job list. I might go for a little wine tour tomorrow and then it’s straight back into it. We still have to figure out how to get to India. Nobody on board has every done that before!”
The team's participation in the 10th Volvo Ocean Race was confirmed as late as 11th September - a month before the start of leg one. As such, the team has had a steep learning curve over this first leg to Cape Town.
“A Volvo 70 is a different thing,” O’Rourke said when safe on the dock in Cape Town. “The loads are huge and you need 10 or 11 big, strong guys. It’s a totally different animal; a huge step. It’s been a big learning curve and it’s not going to come overnight. I’m looking at this as a stepping stone for 2011. We’re learning how to improve every day.”
O’Rourke had acquired the winning boat from the 2005-06 Volvo, ABN AMRO ONE, and refitted the first generation Volvo Open 70 to bring it in line with the new Rule.
The full race crew was not formally announced until the completion of the boat's delivery to the start port of Alicante.
At the time, O’Rourke said, “I don’t imagine we will be super competitive in the first leg because we need more time to learn about this boat, but, by the second and third legs, I think we can be up to speed.”
The final boat to finish the leg will be Telefónica Black. Current projections see them finishing on Tuesday afternoon.
Leg One Finishing Order into Cape Town
1 Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA)
2 PUMA USA (Ken Read/USA)
3 Ericsson 3 SWE (Anders Lewander/SWE)
4 Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR)
5 Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED)
6 Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT)
7 Team Delta Lloyd (Ger O'Rourke/IRE)
Overall Points Standings (Provisional)
1 Ericsson 4 - 14 pts (FINISHED)
2 PUMA - 13 pts (FINISHED)
3 Green Dragon - 11 pts (FINISHED)
4 Telefonica Blue - 10 pts (FINISHED)
5 Telefonica Black - 6 pts (RACING)
6 *Ericsson 3 - 5 pts (FINISHED)
7 Delta Lloyd - 4 pts (FINISHED)
8 Team Russia - 4 pts (FINISHED)
Team Delta Lloyd slips into fourth position
Thursday night October 16th 2008, the Delta Lloyd of skipper Ger O’Rourke (IRL) slipped into fourth position on the leader board. Due to a late gybe to the west and a more southern course than the Irish Green Dragon, the Dutch/Irish entry was the earliest to take advantage of a stronger breeze. That enabled them to climb one notch. After Team Delta Lloyd dropped to the last place in the first 24 hours, it decided to attack along the African coast. By anticipating wind shifts, the insurance boat managed to work its way up to the middle of the fleet. This performance at the beginning of a long ocean race is above expectations, given the fact that it is a last minute syndicate.
The American navigator Matthew Gregory (turns 32 tomorrow) has already the experience of two America’s Cup campaigns in the pocket, but he never circumnavigated the globe. That means he is making his race debut in the Volvo Ocean Race on board of Delta Lloyd. During the first week of the current leg to Cape Town, Gregory showed that he plays this offshore game as well. The team made its biggest jump on Wednesday October 15. Gregory: "We started the day in seventh position. The boats in front were bunched together about 70 miles ahead of us. Because this group was preoccupied with each other, we had the great opportunity to sail our own race." Gregory expected a left shift and decided to gybe to the coast, earlier than the others. That is how they extended the leverage (distance between them and the rest of the fleet on the same ladder). Gregory: "In that case, small shifts make significant losses and gains. That is what happened. After about an hour, our competition gybed as well. As we hoped, the wind shifted our way, we moved up the ladder rungs and gybed back toward the competition. In the process we crossed the Russians and made a big gain on the leaders."
Moroccan threat
Leaving the Strait of Gibraltar, the Delta Lloyd crew was startled by bright spotlights. Gregory: "Morocco maintains an exclusion zone on their northwest coast. During our Navigator’s Briefing before the start, Volvo Race Management warned us about the possibility of ‘harassment.’" The teams discussed the option of making it a restricted race area, but the vote was ‘no’. Gregory: "Since this region was not restricted, I had decided to take a chance. Crossing through a corner of the zone saved about four miles of sailing distance." The navy came in the middle of the night, but Team Delta Lloyd kept its nerves and continued. After a few minutes, the stealth boat switched off the lights and disappeared.
Flying start
During the last three weeks prior to the start, the whole team pushed very hard to succeed in their mission. On October 11, the Delta Lloyd and the sailors had to be ready for leg one. They all made it happen. Soon after the gun, the Delta Lloyd speeded up to 25 knots and Alicante disappeared quickly in the clouds. After twelve hours reaching at great speed, the Dutch VO 70 parked itself completely. Skipper Ger O’Rourke: "Choosing the fastest route (not always easy) given the confused pressure system caused us to sail into a hole, where we had big losses on the fleet. Hindsight is worth a mention here, as we did not stick to our game plan to sail close to the shore where there was better pressure. This lost us this 47 miles."
Following this unfortunate beginning, the sailors showed their fighting mentality. After more than six days out on the ocean and with 4.833 nautical miles to go, the Delta Lloyd holds on to a fourth position. Crossing the Doldrums will be their next challenge.
Old Lady
The Delta Lloyd won convincingly the last edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, flying the flag of ABN AMRO One. Since the early nineties, only new generation yachts have entered the Volvo Ocean Race. Team Delta Lloyd is first to break with tradition, which might be an important step forwards in building up the future fleet. O’Rourke: "I am excited to say that our old lady, the only grandfathered boat in the fleet, is holding the pack, as well as enjoying the race. I enjoy the challenge of this project, being the first generation small budget syndicate and take on the big budget campaigns (next smallest is four times and the largest 20 times ours). I hope this will bring more used boats into the race in 2011."
Leader board on October 17 at 1 PM:
Ericsson 4, 4.784 distance to finish (DTF)
Puma, 1 DTL
Ericsson 3, 14 DTL
Delta Lloyd, 49 DTL
Green Dragon, 69 DTL
Team Russia, 76 DTL
Telefonica Blue, 141 DTL
Telefonica Black, 199 DTL
In addition to title sponsor Delta Lloyd, the Dutch/Irish syndicate is also supported by Chieftain Group, Tommy Hilfiger, OHRA Verzekeringen, Port of Rotterdam, Discovery Channel, Weather News and Hemels van der Hart.
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 Photographs courtesy of Randal Counihan. Taken in Alicante on 3 and 4 October, 2008 at preparation for in-port race for Volvo Ocean Race.
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Photo taken by Maria Torrijo
Delta Lloyd lineup confirmed
Rick Tomlinson/Volvo Ocean Race
Fri 03 October 2008 14:31:06
Team Delta Lloyd skipper Ger O’Rourke has confirmed that outside commitments will prevent him from sailing in three of the offshore legs in this year’s event.
The Irishman, who was the driving force behind the project, will continue to be part of the crew for all seven of the in-port races, but will not be onboard for leg two, leg three, or the mammoth leg-five trip from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro.
In his absence, New Zealand’s Stuart Wilson, who has sailed this race four times before, will lead the team.
O’Rourke said: “We have put a contingency plan in place to deal with this. I have got some other business commitments that I cannot get out of.”
The team, in a pre-arranged press session to outline the project, also confirmed highly-rated Frenchman Sebastian Col would join the team for Saturday’s in-port race.
Col, who recently won the Troia Portugal Match Cup 2008 as skipper of the French Match Racing Team, will helm the boat and, according to O’Rourke, could feature again.
O’Rourke said: “Seb is available for about 80% of the inshore races so we’ll see what happens.”
The meeting also brought to an end speculation over who would crew the yacht for the forthcoming in-port race and offshore legs.
A selection panel of O’Rourke, Wilson, watch captain Stuart Molloy (NZL) and Maurice Paardenkooper, Holland’s Olympic sailing coach, ran the rule over several international sailors before settling for an offshore line-up of: O’Rourke, Wilson, Molloy, Gerd-Jan Poortman (Neth), Ed van Lierde (Neth), Bert Schandevyl (Bel), Matthew Gregory (USA), Edwin O’Connor (IRL), Martin Watts (GBR), Ryan Houston (NZL) and Sander Pluijm (Neth, media crew member).
Paardenkooper said: “According to the rule, the offshore crew has to include 50% of the sailors who did the qualifier. With that in mind, I already made a shortlist based on certain criteria.
“We also looked at the 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.”
For the in-port race on October 4, boat captain Mark Tighe (IRL) and Col will be added to this list.
Ed Hill (GBR) and Sander Speet (Neth) are reserves. Paardenkooper explained: “We will offer them another position within the team and meanwhile we will continue the training. 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.”
Asked about the tough decision to leave his good friend Tighe behind in Alicante, O’Rourke said: “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.”
Elsewhere, Spanish America’s Cup and TP52 bowman Pedro Mas has been confirmed as Mike Joubert’s replacement in the Team Russia crew for Saturday’s in-port race.
There had been initial hopes that Joubert would overcome the ankle injury he sustained falling overboard during training on Wednesday, but the team has opted to hold the South African back until the offshore start on October 11.
It has opened a slot for Mas, who comes into the fold on the back of working the foredeck on the Spanish America’s Cup boat Desafio Espanol in 2007. He also sailed the MedCup season this year on the TP52 also named Desafio.
A Team Russia statement said: “Mike will be rested from duties this weekend but should be fit to start the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race.”
Delta Lloyd hopefuls on trial
See Delta Lloyd Press Conference
Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:30:04
Team Delta Lloyd’s mission to get in race shape will be boosted by the arrival of a number of sailors who will undergo trials for final places on skipper Ger O’Rourke’s crew list.
Arriving in Alicante today was a quartet made up of Dutchmen Gerd Jan Poortman, Ed van Lierde, Sander Speet and Belgium’s Bert Schandevyl. They will be joined later this week by Holland’s Peter van Niekerk and Jochem Visser for three days of training in a bid to land a spot onboard.
They will have to impress a selection panel of O’Rourke, watch captains Stu Wilson and Stuart Molloy, and Maurice Paardenkooper, Holland’s Olympic sailing coach.
In theory two spaces on the team are up for grabs, but Tom Touber, the team’s general manager, has not ruled out appointing all or none of them when the squad is finalised on October 3.
“The priority for us is to get the best sailors possible in the team,” Touber said. “That means that all of these six guys could get selected. But at the same time, if the individuals are not right for the team, none might get selected and we carry on looking. Alternatively, some might be selected for the inshore team and some for the offshore team. We’ll see.
“It is a team sport and it is healthy to have competition for places in the team. These are all very good sailors so it will be good to see how they fit into the framework we have.”
The selection process is different to what Touber initially favoured. The original plan was to audition several young sailors for the positions, but Touber, who was shore boss at ABN AMRO when they successfully ran a youth project, believes the timeframe makes a repeat impossible.
“This is a very tough race and we do not have a lot of time,” he said. “We wanted to select young sailors, but you need four or five months experience on one of these boats to know what you are doing.
“For that reason we have selected only sailors with at least one Volvo Ocean Race, America’s Cup or other big boat race experience.
“The calibre we have got is very good. Poortman sailed the last race on ABN AMRO TWO, van Lierde was the bow on Brunel, Speet races with Mean Machine and van Niekerk has sailed on Brunel Sunergy and Alinghi. Schandevyl has sailed double-handed transat and Visser has done a lot with Chieftain. It’s a good group of sailors to choose from.
“We are not promising anyone anything, but I am sure these guys will impress.”
The six sailors will take to the water on October 1, October 2 and October 3 in Delta Lloyd’s Volvo Open 70 before a decision is made ahead of the in-port race.
DTV0010 Meet VolvoMEV0010
PRO0020 © Volvo Ocean Race 2008
Team Delta Lloyd Update: 17th September:
See Report: Delta Lloyd arrives in Alicante @16:54 17/09/08.
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Photo credits: Dave Kneale/Volvo Ocean Race
Delta Lloyd, Ger O'Rourke's eleventh-hour entry into the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 arrives into Alicante completing the fleet of eight yachts.
The boat was sailed from Cork, Ireland with a crew of nine people from three nations, Ireland, Britain and New Zealand with the rest of the team from Holland joining the boat in Alicante. Many of the crew are from Ger O'Rourke's old boat Chieftain and have made the step up to the Volvo Open 70.
The Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 will be the 10th running of this ocean marathon. Starting from Alicante in Spain, on 4 October 2008, it will, for the first time, take in Cochin, India, Singapore and Qingdao, China before finishing in St Petersburg, Russia for the first time in the history of the race. Spanning some 37,000 nautical miles, visiting 11 ports over nine months, the Volvo Ocean Race is the world's premier ocean yacht race for professional racing crews.
Team Delta Lloyd Update: 16th September, 2008:
Not much news over past few days as completing 2000 mile qualifying passage, see below:
Delta Lloyd expected to arrive in Alicante
4:18 PM Tue 16 Sep 2008 GMT
Preparation continues in the start port of Alicante, Spain, as seven of the fleet of eight Volvo Open 70s, the fastest monohulls in the world, begin their final checks. Delta Lloyd is expected to arrive in Alicante overnight and her arrival will complete the fleet of eight yachts racing in the Volvo Ocean Race.
The crew on Delta Lloyd after their last minute entry into the Volvo Ocean race are at present nearing the end of their 2000 mile qualifying passage, which will finish in the start port of Alicante over night tonight.
The team is sailing the boat with nine people from three nations, Ireland, Britain and New Zealand with the rest of the team from Holland joining the boat in Alicante. Many of the crew are from Ger O'Rourke's old boat Chieftain and have made the step up to the Volvo Open 70.
The team on the 2000 mile qualifier is:
Ger O'Rourke (Skipper) IRL
Mark Tighe IRL
Edwin O'Connor IRL
Wietse Og Buwalda IRL
Ryan Huston NZL
Stu Molloy NZL
Martin Watts GBR
Ed Hill GBR
Ben Mir GBR
by Volvo media
Team Delta Lloyd (ex ABN AMRO ONE) departed Cobh (14:20 Thursday.) Ger O'Rourke helmed her out past Roches point and into the Atlantic. The boat flew the RWYC of Ireland ensign.
O'Rourke's Volvo 70 limped back to dock in Cork on Tuesday to effect repairs on hydraulic systems.
The first-generation Volvo Ocean Race boat was escorted into the Haulbowline naval base by a local RIB.
O'Rourke, who bought the winning ABN Amro boat from the last race, told Afloat that a minor hydraulic failure became apparent when the crew were 150 miles to the southwest of Ireland, during their passage from Limerick to the race start in Alicante. The damage meant that the crew could not cant the keel, and with big winds predicted en route, the decision was taken to head for safety in Cork Harbour.
Ger O'Rourke's "Delta Lloyd" sets sail for Alicante on 7th September, 2008.
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Ger O'Rourke's "Delta Lloyd" departs the Shannon Estuary on Sunday 7th September to prepare for Volvo Ocean Race in Alicante commencing on 4th October, 2008. See Photos Ger has secured major sponsorship from Delta Lloyd Insurance based in the Netherlands.
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Blessing of "Delta Lloyd" for Volvo Ocean Race. Fr. Donal McNamara, P P, Kildimo, Co. Limerick; Ger O'Rourke, Owner and Maeve Howard, Commodore Royal Western Yacht Club of Ireland (RWYCI). Followed by presentation of RWYCI Ensign to Ger O'Rourke by Maeve Howard, Commodore, RWYCI, Kilrush at Foynes Harbour, 05/09/08. Photos: Charles W Glynn Images.
Links:
Dutch Team Delta Lloyd is eighth boat in Volvo Ocean Race
Portsmouth (England) – 11 September 2008 –It was confirmed today that the Dutch yacht Team Delta Lloyd will be the eighth entry in the Volvo Ocean Race, which starts in Alicante, Spain on 4 October. The team will be sailing the winning boat from the 2005-06 event and will sail under the Dutch flag with sail number NED -1.
The international crew will be skippered by Ireland’s Ger O’Rourke, and the team will be made up from a mix of Dutch sailors and Ger O’Rourke’s current Chieftain Racing Team, which won the Fastnet Race.
The first generation Volvo Open 70, designed by Argentinean Juan Kouyoumdjian has been completely rebuilt and re-fitted during the last few months to bring it in line with the demands of this year’s event.
On leg eight of the Volvo Ocean Race, between Galway and Goteborg-Marstrand, the race course will include a rounding mark outside Rotterdam which will be bring the fleet into Dutch waters, giving the spectators from the Netherlands an opportunity to see something of the fleet as it passes by.
“I am very excited that we have an eighth entry in the Volvo Ocean Race, and I am particularly pleased that the latest entry is Dutch. The Netherlands has played a big part in this event since the first race in 1973 and we are very pleased that we continue to attract entries from this country,” said Volvo Ocean Race Chief Executive, Knut Frostad.
Frostad also added that he has long been a fan of boats being capable of doing more than one race. “The spirit of this campaign is one that I admire. The team has a good boat, the winning boat from the 2005-06 race, and I am looking forward to watching their performance throughout the duration of the event,” he said.
Team Delta Lloyd is currently at sea finishing its 2,000 nautical mile qualifier and should arrive in Alicante to join the rest of the fleet at the weekend. The full race crew will be announced once the boat has arrived in Alicante and the team has gone through its full survival training course. Start Port festivities in Alicante begin next week along with official scrutineering and measuring of the eight entries.
The Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 will be the 10th running of this ocean marathon. Starting from Alicante in Spain, on 4 October 2008 with in-port racing, it will, for the first time, take in Cochin, India, Singapore and Qingdao, China before finishing in St Petersburg, Russia for the first time in the history of the race. Spanning some 37,000 nautical miles, stopping at 11 ports and taking nine months to complete, the Volvo Ocean Race is the world’s premier yacht race for professional racing crews.
For further media information on Team Delta Lloyd, please contact:
Yvo Janssen (Team Delta Lloyd)
Tel: + 31 6 444 151 94.
Email: yvojanssen@planet.nl
www.teamdeltalloyd.com
For further media information on the Volvo Ocean Race, please contact:
Lizzie (Green) Ward
Tel: +44 1489 554 832: Mob: +44 7801 185 320
Email: lizzie.ward@volvooceanrace.org
Full press information can be read and downloaded from:
http://press.volvooceanrace.org
Images
Tim Stonton, Picture Desk Manager
Image Archive: http://images.volvooceanrace.org
Email: images@volvooceanrace.org
Tel: +44 1489 554 856 Mob: +44 781 697 5355
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Ger O'Rourke and ABN AMRO 1 - Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009
Ireland's top offshore sailor, Fastnet winner and Honorary RWYCI member, Ger O'Rourke is expected to be the second Irish entry in the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) with the purchase of ABN Amro 1 (aka Black Betty) to take on the new generation of Volvo 70's in the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009 starting in Alicante, Spain on 11th October, 2008 and expected finish in St. Petersburg, Russia on 27th June, 2009. There will be a stopover in Galway on 6th June, 2009 in the 39,000 nautical miles Round the World Yacht Race.Click to play videos
Volvo Ocean Race ABN Amro 1
and
Volvo Ocean Race 2008 2009
Ireland's other entry "Green Team" from Galway has a new yacht under construction in China by McConghy boatyard.
The Royal Western Yacht Club of Ireland is delighted with this news and wishes Ger O'Rourke and his new team every success.
Race Track
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Event
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Date
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Distance
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Alicante
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In-Port Race
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04 October 2008
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Alicante
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Leg 1 START
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11 October 2008
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6,500 Nm
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Cape Town
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Leg 2 START
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15 November 2008
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4,450 Nm
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Kochi (India)
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Leg 3 START
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13 December 2008
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1,950 Nm
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Singapore
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Leg 4 START
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18 January 2009
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2,500 Nm
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Qingdao
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Leg 5 START
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14 February 2009
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12,300 Nm
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Rio De Janeiro
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Leg 6 START
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11 April 2009
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4,900 Nm
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Boston
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Leg 7 START
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16 May 2009
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2,550 Nm
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Galway
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Leg 8 START
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6 June 2009
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950 Nm
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Göteborg
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Leg 9 START
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14 June 2009
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525 Nm
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Stockholm
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LEG 10 START
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25 June 2009
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370 Nm
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St Petersburg
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RACE FINISH
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27 June 2009
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