Volvo Ocean Race - New skipper will add new tension for Kiwi fans
by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World.com on 16 Oct 2017
Brad Jackson on the helm of team AkzoNobel during the Rolex Fastnet Race James Blake / Volvo Ocean Race
The appointment of Brad Jackson as skipper of the Dutch flagged entry, team AkzoNobel in the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race will give Kiwi fans a third entry on which to focus in the race which starts in five days time.
Brad Jackson is one of three people (all New Zealanders) to have won the Round the World classic, starting with Grant Dalton's maxi ketch New Zealand Endeavour in the 1993-94 Whitbread around the World race. He won again under another New Zealand skipper, Mike Sanderson aboard the Volvo 70 ABN AMRO in the 2005-06 Volvo Ocean Race and again in the following race aboard Ericsson 4 with Torben Grael (BRA).
With no New Zealand entry in the race, focus had been on the performance of MAPFRE against Team Brunel with 49er Olympic medalists and America's Cup winners Blair Tuke and Peter Burling aboard respectively.
Tuke is the only one of the two who will sail the complete race. Burling will sail some legs, and now Jackson will skippering the Dutch flagged entry.
All told there are nine New Zealand sailors competing in the 45,000nm race around the World which gets underway on Sunday October 22 from Alicante, Spain.
Jackson is joined by Brad Farrand (NZL) aboard team AkzoNobel. Farrand is an under 30 yr crew member on his first Volvo Ocean Race.
Louis Sinclair (NZL) formerly with Oracle Team USA is with Blair Tuke on MAPFRE, it will be Sinclair's second trip around the world - and was part of the winning Abu Dhabi crew in the last edition, sailed in the same Volvo 65 One designs.
Two highly experienced New Zealanders are aboard Dongfeng race team. Another three times Volvo Ocean race winner, Stu Bannatyne will sail with Another Abu Dhabi crew member, Daryl Wislang.
Tony Mutter (NZL) will be sailing his sixth Round the World race aboard Vestas 11th Hour racing. Mutter has two Volvo OR wins in his logbook, having won with ABN AMRO (2005-06) and Ericsson 4 (2008-09).
The only female from New Zealand sailing in the race is Bianca Cook having her first Volvo Ocean Race on the Dee Caffari skippered Turn the Tide on Plastic.
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