Friday, April 15, 2011

ENDEAVOUR 32 CB

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Paul Cayard to sail leg four of the Volvo Ocean Race


Author: Volvo Ocean Race Media

Today in Auckland, New Zealand, Nautor Challenge announced that Paul Cayard, skipper of the winning yacht EF Language in the last Whitbread race, will join the crew of Amer Sports One.

Cayard will replace American tactician Dee Smith, who has returned to the United States for an operation on his right shoulder. Had Cayard not been available, then Smith would have sailed leg four.

Amer Sports One skipper, Grant Dalton, said, "Dee has been doing a great job, but has had trouble with his shoulder for several months. It's painful and restricts his movement and, sooner or later, he would need surgery. The fact that Paul is available for leg four allows Dee to get it over with now.

"Dee left New Zealand on Sunday nigh and had the surgery on Tuesday. He will return to New Zealand, and the team, next weekend. The medical advice is that he will require five or six weeks of rehabilitation and is expected to be fit for leg five."

Cayard is no stranger to the Nautor Challenge team as Dalton explains, "Paul has been involved with the Nautor Challenge syndicate from its inception. We have conferred a number of times about various aspects of the campaign. He is also a board member of Nautor's Swan and honorary
chairman of Nautor Challenge."

Dalton, second to Cayard in the 1997-98 Whitbread, said "I chased Paul around the world four years ago and I would rather have him sailing with me than against me.

"Paul will take over Dee's tactical role working with navigator Roger Nilson and he will also have a role on deck. Dee offered to have the operation after the race, doing it now will allow him to get stronger through to the finish.

Cayard is looking forward to the race. "Leg 4 is the best leg of the race. It has it all. you start in pouring rain, sail through gales, 30 foot waves and ice, and finally finish in extreme heat. I am looking forward to sailing with Grant and his team and racing for Nautor Challenge"

Naturally Dee Smith is disappointed to miss what he agrees is the best leg of the race.

During the last race, Cayard described this leg saying, "At times we have been sailing in a tunnel of water created by the bow wave which shoots 15 feet up in the air on each side. We have had two full moon, clear sky nights...indescribable."

It's not really surprising that he wants to come back and sail it again.

Grant Dalton on Cayard joining Amer Sports One

Q: News today of Paul Cayard joining Amer Sports One. Your reaction:

A: Well it's a planned move. We got to Auckland and said 'what have we got to do to make the boat go faster?' We're in second, but second can quite easily turn into fifth, sixth or even seventh in a quality fleet like this, it is much harder to go up a step, it is a lot easier to go backwards.

Dee's shoulder injury was at a point where he really needed to do something about it so that he's right when we get into the short course racing up the coast of the US. Paul has been involved on the fringes of this campaign right from the start. He was the logical person to join and he was really the only guy I would only ever consider joining in place of Dee. If Paul had not been available then Dee would have remained.

Q: It does look now that you finally have got the dream team. What sort of message does this send out to the rest of the fleet?

A: If I was listening to the news that Paul Cayard had joined Assa Abloy or illbruck Challenge then I wouldn't have been happy about that. I would say that it strengthened that other team. I don't think we have taken it seriously in this campaign to date, we are so late, we are in a totally
different design, our sail programme hasn't really happened yet. We're just taking it bit by bit. We're three legs in and we somehow managed to get ourselves into second. I'm probably more surprised than anybody that we're in second place. We're just trying to get better.

Q: What will Paul bring to the party?

A: He brings every strength to us. He's a fast driver, he's a great tactician, he has huge energy, he is a good motivator, he will be good for me. It's been a long two years for me and even though I don't feel tired I am sure I'm probably off the boil a little bit. Just in the exchange of emails in the last few days, he is starting to get his head round the campaign. He's got me working harder than I was expecting with nine days to go which is a good thing. I think he strengthens us in every way.

More Information:

  • YachtsandYachting.com Volvo Ocean Race Information Page
  • www.VolvoOceanRace.org

See also: ENDEAVOUR 32 for sale