Video update from the Camper build shed in Auckland

Chris Nicholson, skipper of the Camper Volvo Ocean Race campaign, gives us an update on the construction of his team's VO70 yacht in Auckland.

Chris Nicholson talks about the build of Camper's VO70 yacht. Auckland, 14 December 2010. Video copyright Camper

This is who I am - Chris Nicholson

One issue that was mentioned and repeated by almost every panelist, during the two full days of the World Yacht Racing Forum, was that the sport of sailing needs to put into evidence its characters and personalities. Well here's a nice video from the Volvo Ocean Race doing just that. Chris Nicholson, skipper of the Camper VOR race, talks about himself while Grant Dalton tells us how he first spotted him ten years ago.

CAMPER announce Volvo Ocean Race crew

[Source: Volvo Ocean Race] Just six months after Camper, the Spanish footwear brand, announced that it would take part in the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race, skipper Chris Nicholson today confirmed the sailing team and key shore team members for the CAMPER campaign.

The CAMPER team, which is being managed by Emirates Team New Zealand, brings a wealth of experience to the race. Team members have between them no less than three Olympic campaigns, 17 America's Cups, 22 Volvo/Whitbread races and numerous world championship titles.

Nicholson said of his crew: "This is one of the hardest events to win in sailing and we set out to bring together the best sailing team possible.

"We have a great mixture of experience and youth; I have been lucky enough to sail with most of them over the years and we have a team that will work really well together.

"The spirit within the CAMPER team, and by that I mean everyone, from the design, office, management, build, sponsors, reflects a real genuine passion to achieve," says Nicholson. "I believe that we have created a team that can win the Volvo Ocean Race. We have a great sponsor in Camper and we are looking forward to sharing this race with them."

Dalia Saliamonas, Project Director, CAMPER in the Volvo Ocean Race, says: "Six months after announcing our participation, it is fantastic to announce this exciting team. We are incredibly proud to be working with such a talented, experienced and passionate crew, and we are looking forward to the journey ahead."

Under the eye of CAMPER's principal designer Marcelino Botin and the build team at Cookson Boats in Auckland, construction of the CAMPER boat is well underway with the hull now complete. The team plans to have the boat in the water by late April 2011 where it will undergo sea trials before being shipped to Spain.

CAMPER SAILING TEAM

Chris Nicholson (41), Australia
Skipper
An electrician by trade, Chris is a veteran of three Volvo Ocean Races (2001-02, 2005-06, 2008-09) and has been sailing professionally for over 20 years. He has represented Australia at two Olympic Games (2000 & 2004), and has six world championship titles across the 49er and 505 classes.

CAMPER crew (L-R): Roberto Bermudez de Castro, Adam Minoprio, Andrew McLean, Daryl Wislang, Hamish Hooper - Photos: CAMPER.

Stuart Bannatyne (39), New Zealand
Watch Captain
Stu has been a professional yachtsman for 16 years and competed in the last five Whitbread and Volvo Ocean Races, three times aboard the winning boat. He has won numerous inshore championships and ocean races, has broken the 24-hour world record distance for a monohull on five separate occasions (the most by any person), and was named New Zealand Sailor of the Year in 2009.

Will Oxley (45), Australia
Navigator
Will is a marine scientist with over 200,000 nautical miles of ocean racing on his CV, including sailing and shore-based positions in two Volvo Ocean Races (2005-06, 2008-09), the BT Global Challenge (2000-01) and the Oryx Quest Non Stop RTW (Doha 2005/6).

Roberto "Chuny" Bermudez de Castro (40), Spain
Driver/trimmer
An industrial engineer, Chuny has competed in two America's Cup Campaigns (1995 & 2000) and represented Spain at the Athens Olympics in 2004. He has taken part in four Volvo Ocean Races, most recently as skipper of Delta Lloyd in 2008-09.

Adam Minoprio (25), New Zealand
Driver/trimmer
Adam is a rising star in yachting. In 2009 he made his mark by winning the World Match Racing Tour as skipper and helm of the BlackMatch team after only two years on the professional circuit. Adam and his team were recently named 2010 Singapore Airlines Sailor of the Year.

Rob Salthouse (45), New Zealand
Driver/Trimmer
Rob is a sailmaker who has a sailing career spanning more than 25 years. He has taken part in no less that eight Sydney Hobart races, five Admiral's Cups, and four America's Cups as part of Emirates Team New Zealand. This will be his third Volvo Ocean Race (2001-02, 2008-09).

CAMPER crew (L-R): Rob Salthouse, Mike Pammenter, Stuart Bannatyne, Tony Rae, Will Oxley - Photos: CAMPER.

Tony Rae (49), New Zealand
Driver/Trimmer
Tony brings a wealth of experience to the CAMPER team with over 20 years as a professional sailor. He was onboard Steinlager 2 during the 1989 Whitbread when the crew won every leg of the race and has been a core team member of New Zealand America's Cup campaigns since 1987. This will be his fifth Volvo Ocean Race (1985-86, 1989-90 1993-94, 1997-98).

Michael Pammenter (27), South Africa
Bowman
Mike is a finance and economics graduate whose first experience of the Volvo Ocean Race was in 2008 when he joined Telefonica Blue as one of the new "under-30s" and was the youngest sailor in the race.

Daryl Wislang (29), New Zealand
Bowman
Sailmaker Daryl started sailing when he was ten and it is a passion that has turned into a career. His previous race history includes being sailmaker and part-time in-port racer with Movistar in 2005-06, and as bowman on Telefonica Blue in 2008-09.

Andrew McLean (31), New Zealand
Pit/Trimmer
A qualified mechanical engineer, Andrew was part of the winning Emirates Team New Zealand team during the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger elimination series in 2007. He took part in his first round the world race onboard Green Dragon in the last edition of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Hamish Hooper (32), New Zealand
Media Crew Member
Hamish had a background in TV commercials and advertising but a slight turn of fate one day found Hamish being involved in sailing television work and he has been involved in filming sailing events and working alongside teams ever since.

Kevin Shoebridge, COO of Team Camper, updates on his team

It was a very interesting two days in Alicante and I had the chance to meet a great number of stakeholders (organization, teams, stopovers, sponsors and partners) in the Volvo Ocean Race and talk about the racing, commercial and marketing aspects of the premiere round-the-world race. These interviews will be published in several installments over the next few days.

The first interview is actually a short update Kevin Shoebridge, COO of Team Camper, gave me on the Emirates Team NZ project, bankrolled by Spanish footwear company Camper. According to Shoebridge the build and design program are well advanced and the hull and deck of the new VO70 yachts are now complete. The launch is scheduled for mid-April while shorter term, the crew will be announced on December 15th.

Valencia Sailing: Can you give us an update on the Camper Volvo Ocean Race campaign?
Kevin Shoebridge: We are well advanced with our design and build program in Auckland. In fact as of last week we have a completed hull and a completed deck. The build is done at Cookson Boats which built all our boats. They built the TP52 and about 8 America's Cup yachts. We are really happy with how it's going, we are right on schedule, and the launch should take place around mid-April. Don't forget that the VO70's are very complicated yachts and there is a huge amount of work required on the design front to keep up with the build. That's where are pretty much focused on right now, to make sure Cookson have enough information so that the build is carried out on schedule.


Valencia Sailing: Is building a VO70 much more complicated than building an ACC Version 5 yacht?
Kevin Shoebridge: Absolutely. There's nearly twice as many hours of construction than an ACC boat. They are very complex yachts.

Valencia Sailing: What schedule does the team have after the launch next April? Will you come to Spain?
Kevin Shoebridge: We are still deciding exactly how that will play out. Our sea trials and the initial testing period will obviously take place in Auckland. We are still debating on a few things such as the Fastnet Race and that would slightly alter our program, leading into the assembly period in Alicante. We are still not decided on the exact schedule and it will also depend to some extent on what the other teams do. The racing aspects are important, just as the testing.

Valencia Sailing: You have announced Chris Nicholson as the skipper, Adam Minoprio and Chuny Bermudez. When will you announce the rest of the crew?
Kevin Shoebridge: We will make an official announcement on December 15th. All the positions are filled on the sailing team and the shore team and the crew consists of New Zealanders and a few Australians, with the exception of Chuny Bermudez, of course. There will be no other Spanish sailors in the crew.

Valencia Sailing: For you personally does this job represent a big challenge?
Kevin Shoebridge: It does, at the moment. I have more responsibilities now than back in 2007 in Valencia. Over the last few years, the team has diversified a lot and that was a definite plan that we wanted to get involved with more sailing, with more types of sailing. That's why we got involved with the TP52's, that's why we helped develop the Louis Vuitton regatta idea and now the Volvo Ocean Race. We are a sailing as opposed to just an America's Cup team.

Valencia Sailing: Won't that distract you from your ultimate goal, which is winning the America's Cup?
Kevin Shoebridge: Not at all, we actually think the opposite. We think it helps achieving that goal. Having a team that is motivated and involved in different aspects of the sport is a really good thing. Even if I'm not working full time on the Cup we have a lot of very good people taking care of many different areas. We rely on these people to make sure we don't get overloaded in any certain area.

Valencia Sailing: Will you be back in the America's Cup part of the team once the Volvo Ocean Race is over?
Kevin Shoebridge: Absolutely. In fact, I'll be in Dubai on Sunday morning.

Musto to partner Camper in 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race

[Source: CAMPER] Performance clothing brand Musto, has today announced a partnership with Spanish-based international footwear brand Camper, to be the technical clothing supplier to the CAMPER project for the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race.

Musto has a proud history of working with the world’s best ocean racing teams in order to test and develop the latest construction techniques and fabric technologies. Having partnered with Flyer in the early beginnings of the Whitbread Round The Word Race, Musto has gone on to work with numerous successful teams throughout Whitbread / Volvo Ocean Races including Fisher and Paykel, Yamaha, Merit Cup, ABN AMRO, Telefónica and now have high hopes on the success of the CAMPER team.


The CAMPER campaign is being managed by Emirates Team New Zealand. Team Managing Director Grant Dalton commented: “The Volvo Ocean Race is one of the most gruelling and challenging events in the world, and those sailors that compete will have to endure some of the most extreme conditions on the planet. Musto have always provided the most technologically advanced kit - the best in the world -which ensures our guys’ performance is never compromised. Personally, I have had great success in the past wearing Musto, so I am very pleased that we will be able to work together again on such an exciting project.”

The announcement represents a significant step for Musto having recently taken over direct distribution in Spain and now look to use this partnership to develop it’s presence throughout the country with further outlets and own brand stores such as in Palma de Mallorca.

Musto Chief Executive, Nigel Musto, added: “Musto is incredibly proud to have worked with the world’s best sailors through the years and that is testament to the quality of our technical products. Our partnership with Grant and the CAMPER team provides us with a fantastic platform to develop Musto as a leading technical sailing clothing brand in the Spanish market.”

Renowned for producing the most technologically advanced sailing product in the world, CAMPER sailors will benefit from the full Musto 3-Layer System, ensuring they are kept warm, dry and comfortable whilst battling the most inhospitable conditions. Kit will include HPX outer-wear, GORE-TEX® Mid-Layers and Musto’s innovative Base-Layers.

One week to the Camper AUDI Medcup regatta in Barcelona

[Source: AUDI Medcup] When racing starts at the Camper Regatta – Conde de Godó Trophy – Barcelona in one week’s time off the historic city of Barcelona, the Audi MedCup champions the competition in the TP52 Series and the GP42 Series fleets will be hotter than ever.

Summer heat in the Catalan capital will only add to the intensity, but when Marseille last month proved that the Kiwi Audi MedCup champions Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) have a definite fight on their hands when 2008 title winners Quantum Racing (USA) won the Marseille Trophy.

The New Zealand team go to Barcelona with a lead of 18.5 points knowing not only that Quantum Racing have regained their winning ways, triumphing overall for the first time since 2008, but also that four times Olympic medallist Jochen Schuemann (GER) and Sébastien Col (FRA) have been very consistent across the first two regattas with their crew. Their Audi A1 powered by ALL4ONE (FRA/GER) are the only TP52 team to have finished on the podium in both Cascais and in Marseille. Schuemann is confident that they can maintain that regular momentum.

With Pedro Mendonça’s (POR) Bigamist (POR) rejoining the Circuit in Barcelona, the TP52 Series fleet is back up to an 11 boats complement. Eight teams have won at least one race this season so far and five different teams have finished on the podium. One team which finished on the podium in Cascais finished 10th in Marseille. It is that close.

On Quantum Racing, Adrian Stead (GBR) returns as tactician, Paul Cayard (USA) is billed as helm for Artemis (SWE), gold medallist Andrew Simpson (GBR) is back as strategist on TeamOrigin (GBR), and Luna Rossa (ITA) will be sailed by an entirely Italian crew with Gabriele Benussi (ITA) registered as tactician for Barcelona.

The official practice race takes place on Tuesday for the TP52’s, series racing begins on the Wednesday with the coastal race on Friday. For the GP42 Series, the practice race is scheduled for Wednesday, and the first race for Thursday. Both Series race until Sunday.

The world's best monohull sailing team sailing to victory in the AUDI Medcup Marseille regatta. Video copyright AUDI Medcup

The Series tightens in the GP42’s
Since the Stage 2 victory of Iberdrola (ESP) in Marseille and the fewer races held there due to the strong winds, the points totals have tightened up considerably in the GP42 Series. Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (ESP) maintains a 4-point lead over the pack, but Iberdrola and Madrid-Caser Seguros (ESP) lurk only a few points back, ready to take the lead if the 2009 GP42 Series champions led by skipper Jose María Ponce (ESP) slips up in Barcelona.

The two owner-driven boats, AIRISESSENTIAL (ITA) and Peninsula Petroleum (GBR), are fairly distant in points behind the Spanish teams, but there are many races left in this Series. AIRISESSENTIAL will have their regular tactician Gabriele Bruni (ITA) back on their team.

Quotes:

Jochen Schuemann (GER), skipper Audi A1 powered by ALL4ONE (FRA/GER): “I am sure that Barcelona will be challenging. With this high pressure and heat over Europe then it might be that winds are light, but what we have seen at the events so far is that the standard is higher than ever, that all ten or 11 boats are competitive, and it is easy to have a third in one race and a 10th in the next.”

Ray Davies (NZL), tactician Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL): “I think that though not many of us have experience of Barcelona in many respects the conditions can be not dissimilar to what we get off Valencia at this time of year, but for sure it will be lighter than we have seen this season. We know that after Marseille we have to be sailing the boat better and have been working hard to get more performance from the boat, especially how we sail in lighter winds and looking at the sail programme, and we feel we have been successful in that.”

Gonzalo Araujo (ESP), helmsman Bribón (ESP): “At this time of year the race area in Barcelona tends to be light in terms of wind, although it will depend on the intensity of the Garbi. Our boat is good in the light breeze, but whatever the situation we will face this event as we do all regattas: doing the best possible start and giving it our best throughout the race.”

Iñaki Castañer (ESP), tactician Península Petroleum (GBR): “After breaking the boat when we were racing at a great level in Marseille, we are looking forward to having a good fight in Barcelona.”

Camper to sponsor the AUDI Medcup Barcelona regatta

[Source: AUDI Medcup] World Sailing Management introduced Camper today as the official sponsor of the third event on the Audi MedCup Circuit 2010 season which will take place from 20th to 25th July. The event’s official title will be Regata Camper - Conde de Godó Trophy - Barcelona.

Audi MedCup Circuit organisers, World Sailing Management, today introduced the Camper brand as official sponsor of the Conde de Godó Trophy - Barcelona, the third event of the 2010 season.

“We are very pleased to be working once again with the Audi MedCup Circuit, explains Estanislao Carpio, who is Executive Director of Operations for Camper, “ And we are especially happy to be involved with this edition in Barcelona, the city which has a long history with Camper and with which there is a particularly close relationship after having opened our first shop, the Casa Camper hotel, the Dos Palillos restaurant and many other projects in the famous City.”

“We at Camper hold a special and strong regard for the sport of sailing, we are tremendously international, but we are from Mallorca originally. The Audi MedCup Circuit is an event which shares many of our values." continues Carpio.

The Audi MedCup Circuit has maintained a close relationship with the international shoe manufacturing brand. Camper was official supplier on the Circuit in 2007, the same year in which they sponsored the Copa del Rey Camper Audi, the third event of the 2007 MedCup season.

“ Given the strong relationship Camper has with sailing, with the Audi MedCup Circuit and particularly with the city of Barcelona, we are very happy to be collaborating again." concludes Ignacio Triay, Audi MedCup Circuit Director.

The Regata Camper - Conde de Godó Trophy - Barcelona will take place from July 20th to 25th. The Public Village for the third event of the season will open on July 17th and remain open with free entry through to 25th July.

Adam Minoprio talks to Valencia Sailing about the Volvo Ocean Race

Adam Minoprio, the reigning ISAF World Match Racing Champion and winner of the 2009 World Match Racing Tour, was in Calpe for the Open de España, calling tactics on Michelle Perris' yacht. Valencia Sailing caught up with Minoprio and talked about Team New Zealand and their Volvo Ocean Race project.

Valencia Sailing: Let's start with the obvious question. Why do you want to do the Volvo Ocean Race?
Adam Minoprio: Growing up in New Zealand, as a boy I watched the Whitbread coming into Auckland and most of New Zealand's greatest sailors have gone through the Volvo Ocean Race. It's also a natural step of progression for me and since the opportunity came along, I certainly jumped into it. I really look forward to it.

Valencia Sailing: It's certainly a change for you, going from short upwind/downwind legs in small boats to sailing 40,000 miles around the globe.
Adam Minoprio: It's going to be a huge difference and that's part of the challenge but at the end of the day it is just boat sailing and I'm sure it's going to be a lot of fun. I have done a few offshore races, not as many as I probably would like, and I enjoyed all of them.

Valencia Sailing: What's the longest offshore race you have done?
Adam Minoprio: It's the Sydney Hobart and we did it in a pretty quick time, two days and two hours on a TP52.

Valencia Sailing: What will the biggest challenge as far as you are concerned?
Adam Minoprio: I think the whole thing is going to be a challenge. Every aspect of the project will be a challenge on itself although I can't single out any in particular. Nevertheless, it's challenge I look forward to taking on. I will be one of the drivers and trimmers of the boat and the basic principles of what a boat go fast or slow are the same. I have helmed Maximus when she was on the water and it's not that different. The main difference I see from the smaller boats is that on big boats things happen slower.

Adam Minoprio calls tactics for Michelle Perris. Calpe, 30 April 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Valencia Sailing: What is the schedule for you personally and the Volvo Ocean Race project for 2010?
Adam Minoprio: This year my focus will entirely be on the World Match Racing Tour. The Volvo Ocean Race boat is still being designed and we will not do any sailing in that aspect. The America's Cup is still unannounced, so it will be all about the WMRT and the world title we have to defend.

Valencia Sailing: Don't you think this will put Team New Zealand in a disadvantage against its main competitors in the Volvo Ocean Race? Groupama, Telefonica and Puma are already training with boats from the previous edition. They will almost be a year ahead of you.
Adam Minoprio: Not necessarily, because you are only allowed to build one boat this time, so we will all have the new boats out roughly at the same time. In that aspect they are not training on a new boat in order to improve the design of the second new boat, they are just doing crew training. They will only get a little advantage. The Team New Zealand design team is one of the best in the world and are certainly doing a fantastic job while, in addition, they are currently recruiting the best VOR sailors in the world. We will be an awesome team with a very well-designed boat, so we will be extremely competitive. We will have enough time to do the required training before the race.

Valencia Sailing: Will any other member of BlackMatch Racing Team be part of Team New Zealand?
Adam Minoprio: I hope so but it's not up to me. I don't take those decisions, I'm just a sailor and most probably I'll be the youngest one onboard, doing the work the youngest guy onboard is supposed to do. Still, the Under-30 rule is definitely a very good idea that gives young sailors a great opportunity to advance in the sport and it will be good for the America's Cup to also implement it.

Emirates Team NZ names VOR skipper

[Source: Emirates Team New Zealand] Emirates Team New Zealand has appointed Olympic and round-the-world yachtsman Chris Nicholson to skipper Campers’ entry in the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race.

Nicholson is a veteran of three VORs, his first as a watch captain in 2001-02 on Amer Sports 1 which was skippered by Emirates Team New Zealand managing director Grant Dalton.

In 2005-06 he was a watch captain on board Spanish entry movistar and in 200-09 he was co-skipper of Puma, which finished second.

Nicholson, aged 40, represented Australia at the Olympics in 2000 and 2004. He was 49er world champion in 1997, 1998 and 1999 and world champion in the 505 class in 1992, 1994 and 2002.

Nicholson will be joined by the current world match racing champion, Adam Minoprio, of New Zealand.

Chris Nicholson (left) with Adam Minoprio

Minoprio’s young BlackMatch team has had a meteoric rise up the world match racing standings. After only two years on the professional circuit the team won the season championship and was first in the world match racing standings.

Minoprio has returned to the circuit in 2010, with every intention of defending his hard-won title.

Emirates Team New Zealand operations manager Kevin Shoebridge, who will manage the Camper project, said the appointment of Nicholson and Minoprio brought together veteran ocean racing experience and up-and-coming talent.

“Chris Nicholson is well-known to the team and brings the experience from a long and successful racing career to Camper. Adam Minoprio is a young yachtsman with drive, determination and skill who will be an asset to Camper. His BlackMatch racing team already has a close association with Emirates Team Zealand and we have supported him on the match racing circuit.”

Volvo Ocean Race crews number 10 plus a media/camera person who plays no part in sailing the yacht. “We are working with Camper on recruiting other members of the crew,” Shoebridge said.

The Emirates Team New Zealand design team, headed by principal designer Marcelino Botin, is well advanced on the yacht’s design. Building will start in Auckland in August. It will be launched early next year and undergo sea trials before being shipped to Spain.

Camper, the Spanish-based international footwear manufacturer, announced its decision to enter the Volvo Ocean Race on April 12. Camper is a family-owned company which started making shoes on the Spanish island of Majorca in 1877. Today Camper operates directly 320 stores and “shop-in-shop” locations in 42 countries and distributes its products through 2800 independent retailers.

The Volvo Ocean Race starts at Alicante, Spain, in October 2011 and will finish at Galway, Ireland, in June 2012.

Stopover ports are Cape Town (South Africa), Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), Sanya (China), Auckland (New Zealand), Itajai (Brazil), Miami (USA), Lisbon (Portugal) and Lorient (France).

Video: Emirates Team NZ present Volvo Ocean Race project

If you are a regular reader of this website you certainly know by now that Camper, the Spanish footwear company, entered the Volvo Ocean Race with a project that will be run by Emirates Team New Zealand. We reported live from the Spanish presentation that took place in Palma last Monday but we didn't have any video footage from the New Zealand presentation a few hours after the Spanish one.

So, for the record, here is the 33-minute video from the press conference in the kiwi team base, hosted by Grant Dalton, Kevin Shoebridge and Matteo de Nora.

Emirates Team NZ present Volvo Ocean Race project. Auckland, 13 April 2010. Video copyright Emirates Team New Zealand

Video: TV New Zealand reports on Emirates Team NZ entry in the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race

Grant Dalton talks about Emirates Team NZ entry in the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race. Auckland, 13 April 2010. Video copyright TV New Zealand

TV New Zealand reports on Emirates Team NZ entry in the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race. Auckland, 13 April 2010. Video copyright TV New Zealand

Camper announces Volvo Ocean Race campaign

[Source: Volvo Ocean Race] Camper, the Spanish-based inter-national footwear brand, announced today that it will compete in the Volvo Ocean Race in 2011-12. The campaign will be run by Emirates Team New Zealand.

The yacht will be called Camper and will carry the burgees of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and the Real Club Náutico de Palma.

Camper is a family-owned company which started making shoes on the Spanish island of Majorca in 1877. Today Camper operates directly 320 stores and “shop-in-shop” locations in 42 countries and distributes its products through 2800 independent retailers.

After 133 years Camper is still a family-owned company where creativity, quality and craftsmanship remain at the heart of the people.

The Volvo Ocean Race starts in Alicante, Spain, in late 2011 and will finish in Galway, Ireland, in mid 2012.

Stopover ports are Cape Town (South Africa), Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), Sanya (China), Auckland (New Zealand), Itajai (Brazil), Miami (USA), Lisbon (Portugal) and Lorient (France).

Video of the Camper-RCNP presentation. Palma de Mallorca, 12 April 2010. Video copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

In announcing the Volvo Ocean Race project, Camper said: “Competing in the Volvo Ocean Race 2011–12 motivates Camper to continue innovating its products and strengthen its presence around the world”.

“The history and the authenticity of the race, the human adventure, the effort, the desire to improve and the teamwork fully fit the Camper values.

“The Mediterranean as a territory and as a culture has always been at the centre of the Camper image. From Alicante this round-the-world race will be, without a doubt, a strong source of inspiration for the future of a brand that walks with imagination.

“For us it is a privilege to take our first steps in the Volvo Ocean Race together with Emirates Team New Zealand, undoubtedly one of the most prestigious professional sailing teams in the world. Despite New Zealand being in the antipodes of Majorca, we feel very close to them sharing their way of thinking and so ETNZ makes us feel confident when undertaking this project.”

Emirates Team New Zealand managing director Grant Dalton says the team has the capacity to integrate a Volvo Ocean Race campaign with its commitments to the Louis Vuitton Trophy regattas, the Audi MedCup 2010 and the next America’s Cup.

“There is some certainty in the America’s Cup following BMW Oracle Racing’s defeat of Alinghi. It’s apparent that with the timing of the America’s Cup, either 2013 or 2014, ETNZ can comfortably integrate a Volvo campaign into its operations.

Estanislao Carpio, CEO of Camper, speaking during the Camper VOR presentation. Palma de Mallorca, 12 April 2010. Photo copyright Nico Martinez

Grant Dalton said a Volvo Ocean Race campaign was a natural fit for the team. “Our objective was always to diversify, once the team had re-established its credentials, as a means of keeping our people busy, focused and creative.

“With Louis Vuitton, the team started the Louis Vuitton Trophy, Dean Barker and the team campaigned successfully on the Audi MedCup TP52 circuit last year and now we have a Volvo Ocean Race campaign to organise from scratch.

“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 explained: “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.”

Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad said: “We are delighted to welcome Grant Dalton and Emirates Team New Zealand to the Volvo Ocean Race, which gives us our first proper New Zealand entry for many years.”

“Dalton, a former winner of this event, brings with him not only a wealth of experience, but a very charismatic and highly competitive team of sailors. The people of Auckland will surely be very proud to watch the progress of Emirates Team New Zealand as it takes on some of the world’s best. “

“I would also like to welcome Camper to the Volvo Ocean Race family. We look forward to working with their strong international brand, elevating the profile of their new team and our race.”

Real Club Nautico Palma - Volvo Ocean Race presentation