Ericsson Completes 2000 Mile Qualifying Sail
The Ericsson Racing Team has successfully completed its 2000 nautical
mile qualifying sail arriving into Gothenburg, Sweden on 15 August,
after seven days at sea. It is compulsory for all teams entered for
the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06 to complete a non-stop ocean
qualification passage of approximately 2000 nm, to prove themselves
seaworthy before the race starts in November. Ericsson, the third VO
70 yacht to complete the voyage, did so with eight of her ten
crewmembers onboard.
The team left its training base in Vigo, Spain on August 8, joined by
Ericsson Team Technical Director and five times Whitbread / Volvo
Ocean Race veteran, Magnus Olsson of Sweden. Experiencing 25 knots
of winds in reaching conditions, off the Bay of Biscay, Ericsson
clocked top speeds of 25 knots. They sailed up the west coast of
Ireland and north of Scotland, into lighter winds, arriving into
Gothenburg, Sweden at 11.00am Monday.
Skipper Neal McDonald gave his overview of the team’s second long
distance sail onboard the VO 70:
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