Light weather in port race

Can ABN AMRO One win again or will Torben Grael's local Brazilian team have their day?

More photos of Jason and the Princess on page two...

Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden visited the Volvo Ocean Race Village and had the opportunity to view the team’s final preparations before tomorrow’s in-port race on Rio's Guanabara Bay, in which she will participate.

HRH the Crown Princess Victoria is godmother to the Ericsson entry and tomorrow she will be a special guest onboard for the fourth in-port race of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06, which is expected to draw a large crowd both on and off the water.

“I think we can expect a huge turnout tomorrow for the in-port race and I think it will be the largest number of boats that the bay has ever seen,” commented local hero and skipper of Brasil 1, Torben Grael.

It is expected that the course will be set on Guanabara Bay, just offshore from the race village. Spectators will be treated to the site of six Volvo Open 70s in close combat.

The conditions for the teams will prove tricky as Grael explains: “This in-port race will be a bit different from the others that we have sailed as it will be incredibly hot. Also the geography of the bay is very specific with hills all around and it is very narrow. This will certainly keep the race interesting and it will be a great event.”

Overall race leader Mike Sanderson (NZL) commented: “I really have no idea to be honest on what to expect on Saturday. The forecast is looking a little shady. It would be nice if the sea breeze could kick in like it did today but thunderstorms are forecast which could throw a spanner in the works.”

At present on the leaderboard ABN AMRO One holds a 14 point lead over second-placed ABN AMRO Two and as skipper Sanderson explains it is just a question of consistency: “It is a matter of earning as many points as we can during the in-port race. We don’t need to win it but we certainly don’t want to come last, but if we do it will hopefully be because we have had light airs or it is not our day. We just have to go out, try and do a nice job and see what happens.”

Further down the points table it is very close and a tight battle is expected for the podium positions tomorrow. Sebastien Josse (FRA) and his young team on ABN AMRO Two are in second place just four and a half points in front of third placed Pirates of the Caribbean skippered by Paul Cayard.

As Cayard explains, tomorrow could see some further shuffling of the leaderboard: “We have done well in all the in-ports and we hope to do the same tomorrow, but it looks like it could be the trickiest day of all the in-port races just because there is tidal current in this bay and high mountains round the side so the lighter it gets the trickier it could be here.”

The Spanish entry movistar is in fourth place overall, with just a two and a half point buffer to Brasil 1. Bouwe Bekking (NED) and his team have worked hard during the stopover to get the boat ready for the in-port race, after suffering damage in leg four, and will be hoping for a change of fortune in Rio.

Local heroes Brasil 1 will be spurred on by the possibility of victory on their home waters. Grael has already proven he is one to watch in the light airs and with the advantage of local knowledge will be a strong contender.

2001-2 Volvo Ocean Race winner John Kostecki will take the reins for the first time as skipper on board Ericsson. Kostecki is confident that the weeks training in the bay along with a few crew changes will pay off: “We have been race training for the last couple of days and it has been going quite well. We have two changes to the crew for the in-port race and that is all shaping up nicely and we feel like we are ready to go. We have not made any huge, significant changes but we are just trying to chip away at everything and do an overall better job. Hopefully we can get a podium finish.”

The one thing that does seem predictable is that it will be a hotly contested race as Kostecki suggests: “The racing is getting really competitive. Some of the best skippers in the world are involved and the crews are all top level which will provide some exciting racing for the public and also for us.”

The Ericsson Racing Team has been busy practising all week, ahead of Saturday's in-port race in . John Kostecki, the team's skipper for leg five and inshore tactician, arrived early into Rio to start training with the team, whilst talented sail trimmer Ross Halcrow has settled in "as if he had always been there", comments Neal McDonald (GBR).

"We've been race training for the last couple of days and things have been going well," said Kostecki. "We've had two changes to the crew for the in-port race and that's all shaping up nicely. Rosco [Halcrow] is a world class trimmer; he's filling David Rolfe's position for the in-port race and Rolfe's doing the bow now which he's very good at. These small changes have been a benefit and we feel like we're ready to go. Hopefully we'll get a podium finish."

The course for the in-port will be three to four laps depending on the wind conditions and the running time will be between two and three hours. According to local weather forecasts, there is a front approaching the east coast of Brazil, but no one quite knows when it will arrive in the harbour and what conditions it will bring.

McDonald predicts a pretty open field for the race: "The bay is going to be interesting - it's potentially shifty with varying pressure. It will be one of those regattas where the boats are very close and the places could change very quickly."

The six teams will leave the Marina da Gloria from 11:00 (local) on Saturday 25 March. Racing gets underway at 13:00. The race will be broadcast live on TV Globo.

Crew lists:

ABN AMRO One
Mike Sanderson (NZ) – Skipper
Stan Honey (USA) – Navigator
Brad Jackson (NZ)
Brian McInnes (CAN) [replaces Mark Christensen (NZ)]
Tony Mutter (NZ)
Sidney Gavignet (FRA)
David Endean (NZ)
Jan Dekker (RSA)
Robert Greenhalgh (GBR)
Justin Slattery (IRL)
Tomasso Chieffi (ITA)

ABN AMRO Two
Sebastien Josse (FRA) – Skipper
Simon Fisher (GBR) – Navigator
Andrew Lewis (USA)
George Peet (USA)
Lucas Brun (BRA) [replaces Gerd Jan Poortman (NED)]
Hans Horrevoets (NED)
Luke Molloy (AUS)
Yves Leblevec (FRA) [replaces Nick Bice (AUS)]
Scott Beavis (NZ)
Simeon Tienpont (NED)
Neil Cox (AUS)

Brasil 1
Torben Grael (BRA) – Skipper
Marcel van Triest (NED) – Navigator
André Fonseca (BRA)
Andy Meiklejohn (NZ)
Henrique Pellicano (BRA)
João Signorini (BRA)
Horacio Carabelli (BRA)
Roberto Bermudez (ESP)
Stuart Wilson (NZ)
Marcelo Ferreira (BRA) [replaces Knut Frostad (NOR)]
Alan Adler (BRA)

Ericsson Racing Team
John Kostecki (USA) – Skipper
Steve Hayles (GBR) – Navigator
Neal McDonald (GBR)
Damien Foxall (IRL)
David Rolfe (NZ)
Guillermo Altadill (ESP)
Jason Carrington (GBR)
Magnus Woxen (SWE)
Richard Mason (NZ)
Ross Halcrow (NZL) [replaces Thomas Braidwood (AUS)]
Timothy Powell (GBR)

movistar
Bouwe Bekking (NED) – Skipper
Andrew Cape (AUS) – Navigator
Chris Nicholson (AUS)
Jonathan Swain (USA)
Mike Joubert (RSA)
Mike Howard (USA) [replaces Noel Drennan (IRL)]
Pepe Ribes (ESP)
Peter Doriean (AUS)
Stu Bannatyne (NZ)
Fernando Echavarri (ESP) [replaces Xabier Fernandez (ESP)]
Pedro Campos (ESP)

Pirates of the Caribbean
Paul Cayard (USA) – Skipper
Jules Salter (GBR) – Navigator
Craig Satterthwaite (NZ)
Jerry Kirby (USA) [replaces Jeremy Smith (NZ)/Curtis Blewett (CAN)]
Erle William (NZ)
Anthony Merrington (AUS)
Justin Clougher (AUS)
Justin Ferris (NZ)
Ian Budgen (GBR) [replaces Rodney Ardern (NZ)]
Dirk de Ridder (NED)
Mark Mctiegue (AUS)