Mike Sanderson presses the go button

We speak to the Volvo Ocean Race winning skipper about his new Open 60 campaign

After much conjecture and late nights with Andrew Pindar over the course of the Volvo Ocean Race, so race winning skipper Mike Sanderson has finally confirmed that he is to get a new Open 60: a design by Juan Kouyoumdjian, as of course were the two ABN AMRO Volvo Open 70s, to be built by Cooksons in Sanderson's native New Zealand and to be sponsored by....Pindar.

At present final R&D work is eminating from the Kouyoumdjian design office in Valencia with a last model being towed - their tenth model to be put through its paces according to Moose - and numbers are still in the process of being crunched over the exact rig configuration, specifically how the wingmast will be rigged. "There are all sorts of rumours that it is a fully crewed boat – that is not the case. It is an Open 60 going out there to try and beat the other Open 60s," says Sanderson. Other than that all he will say about the new boat is that it will be a powerful beast

"It is no secret it will be more powerful," Moose continues. "Mike Golding is saying it. The new PRB is clearly showing it. Delta Dore - I hear it is quite a complicated boat. There is so much going on... So it is like the black boat [ ABN AMRO One]: if you are fast in the moderate stuff and you can hang on at either end, it is very hard to beat ocean racing."

While Open 60s and Volvo Open 70s share many similar characteristics - canting keels, twin daggerboards, twin rudders, beamy hull shape, etc - the rules governing these boats are very different. Principally the Open 60 has the famous '10 degree rule' where a boat, when measured at the dock, must heel by no more than this amount in each direction when all its movable ballast is deployed. The result is a rule which doesn't force weight into the bulb in the same way the VO70 rule does.

"The actual concept of the boat was not a million miles away [from the VO70] and so much of what did we think is relevant:" continues Sanderson reeling off the technique in sailing the boat, the sails, knowing what is important to performance and what isn't, the systems, use of the canting keel and daggerboards, as a few examples.

The association with Pindar and the use of the Scarborough-based leading print and web company's Open 60 in the development of the ABN AMRO Volvo Open 70s was crucial Sanderson feels, as the ABN AMRO VO70 development will be for his new 60. "And I am hoping that our time in the new Open 60 will go back to helping the Volvo 70 again," he continues. When we spoke to Sanderson last week he had spent several days negotiating the black boat around the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup courses in sub-10 knot winds, conditions ABN AMRO One has never relished, but even so Sanderson views this all as valuable research time to go into the next Volvo boat. "Again we will have spent more time than anyone else in the Volvo 70."

Having helped conceive the last Volvo Ocean Race winner with design Juan Kouyoumdjian, the choice of designer for his Open 60 was an obvious one. Sanderson and Juan K are like-minded, have a very good relationship and the Kiwi skipper has nothing but praise for his designer. "I enjoy working with him, we get on really well, we have good respect. Emma and I have just been in Valencia working on the new boat. They have a big team now, 12 guys or something. The CFD code he is running is as good as anyone's. Juan’s VPPs are the most accurate I have ever come across by a chunk: The two boats I have had from Juan so far have done exactly what he told us they were going to do and they have behaved exactly as how he said they were going to, so it certainly ups the confidence with the Open 60."

For the free-thinking soul that is Juan K, designing an Open 60, a boat relatively free from rule constraints, must come as a breath of fresh air from the highly restrictive Volvo program and his work with BMW Oracle Racing in teh America's Cup. While ideas for Open 60s have been bubbling around in the back of Juan K's mind for some years, design work on the new Pindar only formally started in January.

As to the program for the new Open 60, Sanderson is not ruling out competing in the Vendee Globe, but says it is unlikely, particularly as now it conflicts with the next Volvo Ocean Race thanks to Volvo thoughtfully bringing the schedule of their race forwards by a year. But one gets the distinct impression it is not just the clash of dates that makes Sanderson less than enthusiastic about competing in the IMOCA Open 60 class' premier event.

"To be honest I don’t want to go around the world non-stop," he admits. "I am pretty much done after 25 days. That’s the reality of it. I am a middle distance runner if you like. I can’t get my head around doing 80 days…" As a result of this the boat's first race after her launch at the end of June 2007 will be the Transat Jacques Vabre. While Sanderson may not do the next Vendee he says there is no reason why the boat shouldn't do it. "What I’d love to do and what is a very likely program is TJV, the Transat (2008), Round Britain and Ireland, Volvo, Route du Rhum. That is fairly likely to be my calendar. Whether someone else does the Vendee in the boat in the between…. Pindar didn’t do the last Vendee and it is not like it is the end of the world. It is very expensive and it is stressful on the sponsor." Someone could even buy the boat allowing them to build a new one.

Sanderson questions why the Vendee Globe has to be the ultimate event in the IMOCA Open 60 calendar. "There is nothing worse than ramping up for the Vendee and breaking on the second night. In my opinion the Open 60 class almost needs to get over the fact that it is all about the Vendee because it is a very cool class whether you're sailing them fully crewed with five or doublehanded or singlehanded, I don’t think you need to go around the world in it."

At Cooksons the new Pindar will be built in a male, not a female mould, since this is what the Kiwi boatbuilding guru prefers. "I’d rather spend the money on the rig and on the sails," says Sanderson. "Mick [Cookson] doesn’t think there are the gains there for the money. With the Volvo 70 we gained 70-80kg on the bulb by female moulding. With 70-80kg on an Open 60 it doesn’t go on the bulb because of the 10 degree rule, so it is not the right bang for the buck. So you spend it on a high modulus mast or more titanium."

Ideally Sanderson hopes that another Open 60 skipper will opt to get a second Juan K-designed Open 60 built that will be a sistership to the new Pindar, allowing them to carry out some two boat testing. He is already talking about an association with Brian Thompson who raced with him on the second leg of the Volvo Ocean Race and who's sponsor bought the previous Pindar Open 60, now rechristened Artemis Ocean Racing. One can't help feeling that there would be several potential skippers keen to buy into a program of this pedegree, one of them almost certainly being currently sponsor-less ABN AMRO Two skipper Seb Josse. "We have done a lot of R&D for the new boat so we should do more than one," Sanderson reckons.

Aside from being a big wide, large sail planed monster of an Open 60, Sanderson reckons that the philosophy of sailing the new Pindar will end up being the same as that he applied to the black boat. "I think now you have to go fast in the conditions where you can go fast," he says. "It is like the Volvo boat or the big cats – you are better to look after them when it is extreme and be fast the rest of the time and I think you are going to see that more and more with the Vendee boats. When it is extreme you just hang on at 70% and everyone averages 20 knots. I think it has been proven that up and down the Atlantic the guys were winning the Vendee. So I think you are going to see more radical boats that people are going to say ‘you’re not going to sail that boat singlehanded around the world, are you?’.

While the new boat will be called Pindar and will have the familiar turquoise with Arctic Tern on bow paintjob, Sanderson says that he and Andrew Pindar are planning on running it as a business by getting on board extra sponsors, etc. Aside from their branded Challenge yacht, Pindar also own a Volvo Ocean 60 which will be used to keep the corporate entertainment program away from the new Open 60.

Volvo

In Porto Cervo last week it seemed almost odd to see a Volvo program still in operation with so many of the same players involved after the end of the race. Traditionally almost before the post-race confetti has landed teams have gone their separate ways and it is a case of 'see you again in four years...' This change is all part of Glenn Bourke's new era Volvo Ocean Race, which will transform the race and the whole ethos behind the event.

"For me, I was quoted as saying it was a bit do or die for Volvo [see our interview with Sanderson on this subject here]," says Sanderson. "They have to meet the market and the market is telling them to go to Asia. For all the critics who are saying 'what about the Southern Ocean?' - they don’t have to find 25 million Euros. So yes it is sad, but it would be much sadder if the Volvo disappeared altogether. The fact of the matter is the roughest weather we saw was coming into England. Volvo 70s only need 30 knots to be extreme, so you don’t need to take them into the Southern Ocean. We are still going to get the footage and everything people will want to see. And maybe if we take it to China another 50 billion people or whatever will see it. I guess I am trying to see it from both sides. I don’t think they’ll get 10 teams on the start line next time if they hold it on the normal course."

A Volvo announcement will take place at the TP 52 event in Ibiza this coming Monday (yes, we'll be there) where it is probable we will be told more details about the new course - latest rumours are that a stop in Mexico may be on the cards (Acapulco here we come!) due to movistar's interests there. While Ericsson have already confirmed their participation, Monday may also see the announcement of some more teams. This may include ABN AMRO, movistar and possibly even Peter de Ridder with a team led by Ray Davies.

According to Sanderson ABN AMRO are still evaluated the last race, although the Dutch bank are showing every indication of continuing. For example their program with the existing boat continues until the end of 2007. They have already competed at Cowes Week and the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup. Next up is the Rolex Middle Sea Race followed by the Sydney-Hobart. ABN AMRO One will then probably head to New Zealand and be modified to the latest version of the VO70 rule, which may also be announced on Monday.

Draft versions of the new Volvo Open 70 rule have been firing around between teams, designers and other interested parties since the end of the last race in June and we understand that the latest version may include a maximum keel weight not just a maximum bulb weight.

One unique aspect of Sanderson is that he gives the impression of being like a child in a sweet shop at present. The Volvo win has launched his career to a new level and aside from his interest in the new Open 60 and Volvo Ocean Race 2008-9 projects he is in the shorter term considering joining up with a Cup program, ideally in some role that allows him to be the technical interface between sailing team and designers. Also if Robert Miller goes ahead with yet another Mari Cha race boat, as seems likely, Sanderson says he will definitely like to be involved with this too... Despiite potentially being tied up with four world-class projects in different classes, all on the go simultaneously, as well as having a new bride in Emma Richards, Sanderson somehow remains as apparently free of stress as he always has been.

"You have TP 52s, you have Open 60s, Volvo 70s and these maxis - there is so much fun stuff going on at the moment," he concludes. "Sailing is as good as its ever been certainly since I’ve been involved with it. There are a lot of guys [the owners and sponsors] enjoying it and the boats are getting faster and easier to sail and more fun to watch, so it is in a good cycle." And somewhere near the heart of this is one M. Sanderson.