Ericsson Racing Team in BMW Round Ireland Race
'Ericsson Racing Team training in Lanzarote, Spain for the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009.
?Oskar Kihlborg/Ericsson Racing Tea'
Ericsson Racing Team ©
Click Here to view large photo
Five crew members from the International crew of Ericsson Racing Team will be competing this weekend in the BMW Round Ireland Race.
Skipper Torben Grael (BRA), navigator Jules Salter (GBR), watch captains Brad Jackson (NZL) and Stu Banatyne (NZL) and trimmer Tony Mutter (NZL), will all be sailing on board the Mills-designed Alegre 68 with owner Andres Soriano.
These five acclaimed sailors will make up the afterguard of the international crew in the two-boat Ericsson team, in the forthcoming Volvo Ocean Race. The Round Ireland Race is part of their training programme to allocate positions for this crucial 'back end' of the boat.
'Jules is going to navigate - he is the only one that does so that is pretty simple! Tony is a specialist trimmer and then between Stu, Torben and myself we will work out what works best. As we haven't sailed together before so it is good to try it out in a regatta situation and we can figure out the best combination,' commented Brad.
'I think everyone is pretty open to ideas. Who drives, who does tactics, who trims main - we have just got to work out the best way to do it. Torben is the boss so it will depend on what he wants to do and this sailing will give us the chance to swap things around and see how it goes. We have a fair idea of what will work but it is good to try it out.'
'The Round Ireland Race gives Jules and Torben the opportunity to work together on a tactical event, as it gives us both coastal and offshore as well. The key thing for us is that those guys work together well and get a good relationship,' he commented.
'In effect the Round Ireland is like the first dry run for the Volvo Race,' added Stu. 'Brad and I are going to be watch captains so all the decisions, the analysis of the weather and strategy is going to be done by Jules and Torben and this gives them the opportunity to do it in race situation.'
'The Round Ireland course gives us a range of weather conditions so we have got a bit of everything and also it is quite tidal and you need to be well prepared on that front as well. At the moment the forecasts for the weekend are showing a fair amount of instability so we need to keep checking them. It will depend on how fast we get around the track and whether or not the wind stays with us,' commented navigator Jules Salter. In addition to the lottery of meteorological conditions and tidal vagaries, the crew of Alegre will also have to account for the gill fishing nets that add another dimension to this exciting and varied course.
The BMW Round Ireland Race is held every two years. About 40 yachts will leave Wicklow on Saturday 21st June for the 704-mile course leaving Ireland and all her islands to starboard.
www.ericsson.com
by Victoria Low 
St Marys, SA
