Yesterday, it was confirmed that the Dutch yacht Team Delta Lloyd will be the eighth entry in the Volvo Ocean Race. The team will be sailing the winning boat from the 2005-06 event.
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.