Volvo Ocean Race

Team and skipper profiles for the upcoming race

Team SEB Skipper: Gurra Krantz (SWE)
Navigator: Marcel van Triest (NED)
Designer: Farr Yacht Design
Boat Builder: Richard Gillies / Tim Smythe
Flag: Sweden

Crew:
Tom Braidwood
Gareth Cooke
Matthew Humphries
Tony Mutter
David "Dingo" Rolf
Marcel van Triest
Magnus Woxén
Glen Kessels


Gurra Krantz is a man with a score to settle. He finished third in the last Ocean Race and it hurts. I that race aboard Swedish Match he went from leading the leg to Auckland to finishing fifth in a very short time. The sense of powerlessness as his competitors sailed away is not a feeling Krantz wants to repeat. If remorseless preparation, attention to detail and a well honed team are what is required to win, Krantz has set himself up well. Personal preparation has not been neglected and despite his commitments on the business side, he does not like having to miss his daily workout with the team. And Krantz really does see it as his team. Total confidence, respect and mutual reliance are essential attributes amongst his crew. Indeed you get the feeling that Krantz takes as much satisfaction form ensuring his crew is a well oiled machine as he does from actually sailing the boat.

More than any other crew in the Volvo Ocean Race, Team SEB demonstrates continuity from the last race to this. No less than six of the sailing team including Gurra Krantz were together on Swedish Match in the last race. Krantz makes no secret of the pain that third place for Swedish Match caused him last time around and third, second or indeed any place other than first is not something Team SEB is contemplating. Learning the lessons from last time around, Krantz and his tightly knit crew have embodied the great Dennis Conner’s philosophy and set themselves up with ‘no excuse to lose’.

With a highly experienced crew Krantz should have few worries about the capabilities of those he is delegating to. All but two of the crew have competed in the Ocean Race at least once before. Between them they have something approaching half a million miles of ocean racing experience. No one amongst the crew is more experienced than Marcel van Triest. Van Triest will be competing in his fourth Ocean race as a navigator and is widely regarded as one of the race’s most knowledgeable strategists.

despite the continuity from past campaigns big changes have been incorporated. While the underwater profile of SEB is similar to the other Farr boats, the deck layout is unlike every Volvo Open 60 that has gone before. In place of a single centrally located main hatch, SEB has two smaller hatches set on either side. The cockpit layout is also substantially different from what has gone before. SEB were keen to optimise their boat for inshore racing while at the same time not compromising the offshore performance. The new layout should allow more crew stability-enhancing weight to be in the right place more of the time while also allowing faster sail changes. The downside is a more complex deck structure with two apertures to reinforce rather than just one.

Taking full responsibility for the construction of their own boat, Team SEB rented space in a boatyard in Gotëborg and hired New Zealanders Richard Gillies and Tim Smythe to take charge. Together with nearly 20 local boat builders they have produced on of the most striking looking boats in the fleet. Only the next nine months will prove if the concept and execution are right.

Preparation for the new and critical shorter legs has extended beyond just the boat. Taking a break from the Portuguese training camp, most of the crew spent part of the early spring sailing in the highly competitive IC45 series in Palma de Mallorca. With second rather than minutes separating these highly technical inshore racing boats lessons that might take a leg to learn in the Ocean Race can be assimilated in just a few hours. Similarly the team spent at least part of their time match racing small 25-foot keelboats simply to sharpen their raw sailing skills.



Page 1 Assa Abloy - Page 2 Djuice - Page 3 illbruck - Page 4 Nautor Amer Sports One
Page 5 Nautor Amer Sports One - Page 6 News Corp - Page 8 Tyco