ASSA ABLOY Sail Leg 9- Gothenburg to Kiel

by Josefine Lemmel on 20 Jul 2001 The ASSA ABLOY Racing Team raced down the coast from Gothenburg to Kiel
to get familiar with the last leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. In light
conditions the team completed the 250 nautical mile sail in 31 hours.

This leg is the shortest but most intense of the Volvo Ocean Race. In
spite of being so short, the it is worth as many points as the longer
legs, which can take around a month to accomplish.
Skipper Roy Heiner reports from Kiel, 'This is an interesting leg, we
had a lot of wind changes and unexpected conditions. It will be very
challenging to race the other boats here. The battle will be close to
the finish line, and now we know the secrets', Heiner said cheerfully.
The team only stopped to fill up water, to race back to the training
camp in Gothenburg. Both new boats sailed to Kiel in order to test sails
over the course of the leg.
The ASSA ABLOY Racing team is currently testing sails around the area of
Gothenburg with the two new identical boats. In August the team will
participate in the Fastnet Race. They will be sail testing with the two
boats from Sweden to England and then back again after the race. During
the Fastnet they will compete with only one of their two boats.


For more information on ASSA ABLOY Racing Team, please contact:
Simon Keijzer, Communication Manager
Mobile +31 (0) 654 754 405
Email simon@atlant.org

Josefine Lemmel, Press Officer
Mobile: +46 (0)73 347 24 49
E-mail: josefine@atlant.org
Website www.assaabloyracingteam.com


The ASSA ABLOY Group is the world's leading manufacturer and supplier of
locks and associated products, dedicated to satisfying end-user needs
for security, safety and convenience. Current sales for the Group are in
excess of 18 billion SEK (approximately two billion USD) and the number
of employees is approximately 20,000. ASSA ABLOY will participate in the
Volvo Ocean Race to support the integration process of 100 companies
worldwide and to develop the ASSA ABLOY corporate identity.

For further press information on the Volvo Ocean Race please contact
either:

Mark Howell, Media Director
Lizzie Green, Race Press Officer
Peter Rusch, Media Center Manager
Rachel Healey, Race Media Assistant
Andreas Hanakamp, Press Officer UK
Nigel Cherrie, Assistant Press Officer UK

at the Volvo Ocean Race Press Office:
Switchboard: +44 1489 564 555
Fax: +44 1489 564 333
Email: firstname.lastname@VolvoOceanRace.org
Website: www.VolvoOceanRace.org


IMAGES
Royalty-free images from the preparations of the Volvo Ocean Race are
available from our picture desk:

Patrick Anderson
Email: Patrick.Anderson@VolvoOceanRace.org
Tel: +44 1489 554 867
Fax: +44 1489 564 333

For broadcast enquiries please contact:
Jim Raven, Granada Sport
Tel: +44 2380 222555
Email: ravenhj@meridiantv.com

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