McDonald leaves GBR Challenge

... to join the Volvo 60 Assa Abloy for the Volvo Ocean Race

Neal McDonald,38, will leave GBR Challenge at the end of the America's Cup Jubilee Regatta to join Assa Abloy in the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race.
McDonald is one of the more sought after racing sailors in the world. He has previous experience in the Whitbread Round The World Race onboard Silk Cut and Fortuna, and he has also sailed onboard Club Med breaking the Round The World Record. Before that he sailed in various high profile teams ranging from being a tactician on Sydney 95 in the America’s Cup to the Seoul Olympics in the Flying Dutchman representing Great Britain.

Several Volvo Ocean Race teams approached McDonald for the race, commenting on his choice of Assa Abloy: "They have some really good crew and a number of them I know personally and there are also some very experienced people behind it like Magnus Olsson. Next to that they have great boats and a good set up, as far as I can see. That could give a technological advantage, which should increase the chance of winning. And that is what it is all about for me."

Skipper Roy Heiner was delighted with the signing: "He is a guy that can sail on any boat from 49-ers to Ocean Racers. He has extensive sailing experience and is a specialist of composite materials, a qualified naval architect and a dedicated team player. You don’t get any better. Our
strategy of hiring some crew at a later stage is now paying off. Neal is reinforcing our already strong team and we are even more confident for the future."

McDonald will join Assa Abloy next week for the Fastnet Race and will then return to finish his duties with the GBR Challenge until the end of August. To switch from the GBR Challenge to the Assa Abloy Racing Team was not an easy decision for McDonald. The reason is twofold. McDonald comments, "I am an Ocean Racer and I really like the Volvo Ocean Race. It will also give me the opportunity to see a bit more of my wife, Lisa McDonald who is also competing in the same race and who I would otherwise have seen very little of during the nine month round the world marathon."

Peter Harrison's Sailing Manager Ian Walker explained, "I'm as disappointed now as I was elated to have signed Neal in the first place. However, I fully understand his reasons. Neal has made an invaluable contribution to the challenge, particularly with his development of the new mast. Losing a sailor of Neal's calibre will always be a loss to any campaign, but he's already taught us much about sailing these boats and how to run a rig maintenance programme."

However, we may still see McDonald on the British boat for the America's Cup: "The door is not shut on involvement in the future, if the circumstances are right for GBR Challenge and for Neal," commented Walker.