Dubai: Emirates Team New Zealand is relishing the thought of going head-on one more time against Alinghi during the 2011 Volvo Ocean Race.
Emirates Team New Zealand Managing Director Grant Dalton announced Tuesday that his team will compete in the 2011 Volvo Ocean Race, with Abu Dhabi one of the stopover ports.
"I think very soon you will see Alinghi announce their involvement," Dalton said at the announcement yesterday.
"It's a perfect one for them really to get their mojo and re-establish some credentials," Dalton added.
Emirates Team New Zealand will be participating in the Volvo Ocean Race in association with Camper, the Spanish-based international footwear manufacturer next year.
Design
The yacht will be called Camper and the Emirates Team New Zealand design team, headed by principal designer Marcelino Botin, will design the yacht. It will be built by Cookson Yachts, Auckland, and launched in the first quarter of 2011 before been sea-trialled and shipped in time for the opening in Alicante, Spain in October 2011.
The 2011 Volvo Ocean Race will start from the Spanish port of Alicante and finish at Galway, Ireland in June 2012 with stopovers in Cape Town (South Africa), Abu Dhabi (UAE), Sanya (China), Auckland (New Zealand), Itajai (Brazil), Miami (United States), Lisbon (Portugal) and Lorient (France).
Emirates Team New Zealand became the fifth team to confirm its entry for the Volvo race, the others being Puma Ocean Racing (US), Groupama (France), Italia 70 (Italy) and a team from Abu Dhabi. Organisers are expecting up to 12 entries for the race.
Dalton has personally contested the Whitbread or Volvo round the world races six times and has twice been a member of winning crews. "The team has no shortage of experience with the Volvo Ocean Race and the Whitbread before it.
"It's no secret that I have never lost my enthusiasm for racing around the world," Dalton stated.
"The Volvo project instantly energises our team, allows our designers and engineers to get going and in Camper we have found a great partner. They are a family company with family values and a culture that fits very well with Emirates Team New Zealand and our family of sponsors," he added.
