New duo for former Kingfisher

Davies and Moloney are Team Cowes

In the closing hours of the Southampton Boat Show today, Ellen MacArthur launched the 'Team Cowes' project that will see Nick Moloney and Sam Davies, her two colleagues in the Offshore Challenges Sailing Team set sail in the Transat Jacques Vabre on 1 November.

"I cannot think of a launch I would much rather be at," said MacArthur. "To see this boat that I have raced thousands of miles in, now being raced by Nick and Sam as 'Team Cowes' in a race that has a great history is just awesome. She looks pretty fast in her new colours as well!"

Moloney is no stranger to this boat or the course. He sailed both two years ago with Mark Turner. "Doing the TJV in 2001 was an awesome experience and I am looking forward to racing in this 10th edition on board the same Open 60 but now with the support of Skandia and Cowes Waterfront - it's going to be an exciting time for all of us," said Moloney. "Having raced this boat many times before I have come to know her true potential and racing with Sam who has also had much big boat offshore experience will make for an interesting and, hopefully, competitive combination."



For Sam Davies, who joined the team this year primarily to campaign a boat on the intense Figaro circuit, this will be the first time she has raced an Open 60 in anger. Davies and Moloney have both competed in the Mini Transat and are well versed in short handed sailing. Both have also a background racing on the big G-class multihulls - Moloney on PlayStation and Orange, while Davies was originally on Royal & SunAlliance and subsequently a regular crew on Maiden II. In order to take part in the Transat Jacques Vabre Davies will not be taking part in the Figaro's two handed long distance race to Dakar, and judging from how exhausted she seems to be from the Figaro class' non-stop schudule this may be no bad thing.

"I have always followed in the news the story about this race so it is just brilliant to be finally competing in it," said Davies. "I know I will learn a lot racing with Nick and hope that we can bring 'Team Cowes' across the finish line in a podium position but it is a tough race with many, many good boats."

Davies and Moloney are being supported by Skandia, the leading international long term savings company and the Cowes Waterfront - a partnership of the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), the Isle of Wight Economic Partnership and the Isle of Wight Council, who are overseeing the regeneration initiative of the Medina Valley, encompassing the towns of Cowes, East Cowes and Newport Harbour.

"Skandia is a long-term supporter of sailing already having supported Skandia Cowes Week for many years," said André Oszmann, Chief Marketing Officer of Skandia. "To build on this we recently launched our Skandia Set Sail initiative to include Sam in the Figaro, Iain Percy and Steve Mitchell in their Olympic Star campaign, Skandia Geelong Week in Australia, Sylvia Vogel and Caroline Flatscher in their bid to become the first women sailors to represent Austria in the Olympics (470 class), Skandia Cowes Youth Week and now the talents of Nick and Sam in the Transat Jacque Vabre."

Oszmann added: "Our sponsorship programme is all about supporting grass roots and new talent in sailing, so giving Nick and Sam this opportunity in this classic trans-Atlantic race made good sense as they are great ambassadors for the sport, Skandia and its brand values."

Following the TJV Nick Moloney will return back across the Atlantic in the singlehanded Bahia to La Rochelle race which serves as a qualification event for the 2004 Vendée Globe race. This event starts on 30 November, around one week after the estimated Open 60 finish of the TJV.