Ericsson Racing- ‘Watch out – we are coming back!’

by Annabel Merrison on 25 Jan 2006 After three weeks on dry land and with less than three days to go until the arrival of their yacht, the Ericsson Racing Team is more eager than ever to get back out on the water. The boys have seen the arrival of five of their competitors over the past couple of days and they are determined to return with a vengeance. Whilst the Brazilian’s are limping into Perth, the Ericsson yacht is on a Wallenius Wilhelmsen cargo ship, due to dock in Melbourne early Friday morning.

‘Now is the time when it’s important to be a team,’ commented crewmember Jason Carrington (GBR) at a team meeting. ‘We’ve got to work together to make sure the boat is in the best possible shape for the next leg. Look at Brasil 1 - it’s not just the keel movement system we need to focus on, it’s every area of the boat. We must use our time efficiently and effectively to make sure we are better than everyone else.’

‘I remember when we arrived into Sydney on Assa Abloy, we were in an even worse position and we hadn’t even broken anything – we’d just sailed badly! But then we went on to win the third leg and arrived into New Zealand feeling like we were going to win the race. It is how you bounce back when you get knocked down that matters and we’ve got to keep our heads up, stick together as a team and go back out there fighting.’

The Ericsson Racing Team is busy training everyday, combining gym sessions with swimming and cycling, to ensure optimum fitness for the in-port race. The shore crew is hard at work making sure the shore base is in ship shape for Ericsson’s arrival. Sailmakers are preparing the sail loft, riggers are making new rope, and a huge amount of technical research is being carried out in order to improve the boat and make sure the team can be as efficient as possible once the boat arrives.

The Ericsson yacht is due to dock in Melbourne at 05.00 local time on 27 January. Shore Manager Dave Powys (AUS), crewmembers Jason Carrington and Tom Braidwood (AUS) and various members of the shore team, will head down to Webs Dock to unload the boat. They will then motor up to the Race Village, before hauling her out, ready for work to begin.

Interview with Spanish crewmember Guillermo Altadill, six times circumnavigator and one of Ericsson’s most experienced crewmembers, with three Whitbread / Volvo Ocean Races to his credit…

How did it feel arriving in Melbourne whilst the other teams were all out racing?

‘Obviously we would have preferred to be racing but it has been interesting to follow the race from the outside. We have made the most of the situation, following the race and looking at the position reports and weather systems that the teams have encountered – it is all useful for the next leg so we have made sure we profited from the situation.’

What did you make of the problems encountered by the other boats on leg two, particularly movistar and Pirates?

‘We knew all the boats would encounter problems, particularly those that were late on the water with less time to test their systems before the race started. It’s normal to break things in a round the world yacht race and until you race the boats you have no idea how they will perform under pressure. You can push the boats as hard as you want but often you only find the problems when you race.

‘We knew the canting keel systems would be the ‘Achilles heal’ of these boats. Canting keels have been around for a while, but never before have boats with canting keels been pushed so hard. They are pushed ten times harder in the Volvo Ocean Race, with a full crew onboard, than in single handed yacht racing.

‘The two ABN boats have had more time on the water and they have also had the opportunity to race against each other in training which brings valuable experience. It is hard to really push a boat without lining up against another.

What do you think of the new Volvo Open 70?

‘They are great boats to sail, extremely powerful and exciting. When you have first generation boats like these you are always going to encounter problems. We had the same problems in 1993 with the VO 60s. They were first generation boats and everyone had problems – breaking rudders, delaminating, one boat lost its mast. It’s always a steep learning curve sailing around the world with a new class of boat, so you have to expect problems and breakages.’

How do you think it has changed the race?

‘On the one hand, it makes the race more exciting, as you wake up in the morning to see the position reports and you wonder first how is the race situation and secondly, who has broken down now?

‘It’s a more mechanical race – to find out what has gone wrong with the equipment, why it has failed and whoever finds the best solution first could win.

‘The race has also become more strategic because you have your shore team on standby in case something goes wrong and the team has to make a group decision on the best time to stop, where to stop and the best solution moving forward. So there are lots of factors to take into account.’

How do you feel about the Melbourne in-port race and the next leg?

‘By the time the boat arrives we won’t have sailed for about three weeks. We need to get the team together and get back out sailing as soon as the boat is in the water. It will be like starting from zero again; making sure we are in good shape for the in-port race and the next leg. The next two legs are really important.

‘Four years ago, when Neal [McDonald], Jason [Carrington], Richard [Mason] and I competed on Assa Abloy, we were in no better situation than we are now; possibly even in a worse situation as we were trailing the leader by more points and there were no in-port races or scoring gates in which to catch up. But we then went out and won leg three from Australia to New Zealand and we came second in the race overall.

‘We are feeling very fresh and well rested. The other teams now have a busy time carrying out maintenance and repairs, with little time to rest and recuperate. Obviously it’s not good to be out of a leg but you have to look on the positive side.’