Volvo is struggling to get more than six boats for its first Ocean Race

Ed Gorman reports on the problems for Volvo as it tries to achieve a reasonable-sized fleet in the face of fierce competition from the America's Cup

When the last Whitbread round-the-world race finished back in May 1998, it seemed little could go wrong for an event which looked poised to finally establish itself under Volvo as the undisputed world championship of sailing. We were heading for some clarity at last in a sport bedevilled by its many and varied divisions.

But life just isn't that simple, as Volvo has found out to its cost. Despite putting its considerable weight behind its new event, it has struggled to get its first race off the ground in the face of unexpected and extraordinary competition from the America's Cup. Not only has the billionaire explosion in that event distracted many key sailors from the Volvo, it has also distorted pay levels in pro sailing, making wage bills for Volvo campaigns beyond many company budgets.

The decision by the Kiwis to wait only three years before hosting their second defence - as opposed to four - was another critical blow for the Volvo which hoped to slot its race in between Cups, thus allowing many of the same sailors to compete in both events. Yet only the German Illbruck team is attempting this schedule.

The upshot is that just 10 months away from the gun, there are only six boats confirmed for the start line. That's four less than last time (though only nine boats completed the race after America's Challenge dropped out in Cape Town). But, more worrying, it's probably four boats short of a decent fleet. You only need one dismasting - there were two in the last race - and you are looking at a seriously small field with limited potential in terms of sporting interest.

Volvo has been saying for months that more boats will be forthcoming and indeed Kevin Shoebridge's Tyco syndicate has formerly announced its campaign this week. But a year ago, one suspects, Volvo would scarcely have believed they would have attracted just six teams by now.

However they have not given up hope yet that up to four more teams might yet materialise, as Michael Woods, director of race operations, told madforsailing. "We're hopeful that there are going to be more boats. There are no guarantees in this game as you know until someone actually signs the cheque. But we are hopeful that things are going in that direction. It's unlikely that we'll get past 10 boats - I think we'll get to eight," he added.

Woods believes that the opportunity for further fully competitive campaigns runs out between now and the New Year. If they don't announce by then, he believes they will be too late to build new boats and get up to speed by September. That leaves two options for people still trying to hook a sponsor. One is to try and persuade the two new syndicates which are building two boats - ASSA ABLOY and DJuice - to let their second new boat go after two-boat testing is completed. The other option is to take the best of the old Whitbread 60s, stick a new carbon rig in it and some new sails, and try your luck like that.

The former option has been put by various would-be teams to both ASSA ABLOY and DJuice, according to Woods, but it is a tricky call especially after the experience of Grant Dalton's Merit Cup in the last race which chose the wrong boat of the two it had built. The latter option is certainly not a race-winning proposition.

Woods is quite frank about the impact of the America's Cup and believes it to be the main reason behind the poor take-up of the Volvo. "Certainly there would have been interest from some America's Cup teams in doing a Volvo if there had been a four-year gap. But having only three years has taken some people away from looking for money for this event who could have done it," he said. "I think the America's Cup and the influence of the salaries people want and the expectations of sailors and what they get is also a factor," added Woods. "They are looking for a lot of money and maybe a fair bit more than last time."

But Woods and his colleagues are taking comfort from the undoubted fact that the six teams which are confirmed so far are of undoubted quality. They are ASSA ABLOY skippered by Roy Heiner and Mark Rudiger, DJuice skippered by Knut Frostad, Tyco skippered by Kevin Shoebridge, News Corp skippered by Jez Fanstone, Illbruck skippered by John Kostecki and SEB skippered by Gurra Krantz.

"We've got six awesomely competitive teams," said Woods. "The level of competition is going to be tremendous. Whoever comes last is going to be absolutely gutted. There is not an ounce of canon-fodder in this race - that goes for the boats, the people, absolutely everything."

All the teams except Tyco, which has employed Laurie Davidson, are using new Bruce Farr designs. All except ASSA ABLOY and DJuice are building just one boat. Some of Britain's best ocean racing sailors are going to be spread throughout the fleet, much like the Kiwis were last time round. Among them are Steve Hayles, Gerry Mitchel and Tim Powell on Tyco; Jez Fanstone and Neal McDonald on News Corp; Matt Humphries on SEB, and Jason Carrington on ASSA ABBLOY.