February 16, 2006: ABN AMRO ONE, skippered by Kiwi Mike Sanderson
stormed into Wellington today, taking second place after a tantalizingly close finish to leg three of the Volvo Ocean Race. Pipped to the post at 13:09 hours local time (00:09 hours GMT) ABN AMRO ONE were neck and neck with movistar as they battled their way up the bay all the way to the finish line.

This short sprint leg from Melbourne, Australia has taken ABN AMRO ONE, the current overall race leader just three days and has been fraught with tension for the sailors as they crossed the tricky Tasman Sea. After some nail biting racing through the Cook Strait and into Wellington Harbor during the early hours of this morning, ABN AMRO ONE finished just nine seconds behind Spanish boat movistar. But for Mike and the four other kiwis onboard, including Wellington born Mark Christensen, they were clearly delighted to arrive back on home soil. As they crossed the finish line the boats were just meters away from the huge crowds on the quay on the Wellington Waterfront.

Mike Sanderson, skipper of ABN AMRO ONE: “We have done the things we set out to do - we have extended our overall lead in the race and kept the boat in one piece. For sure, we cannot be disappointed with second place as these conditions are not our boat’s forte. In fact we are pleased that we were able to take it to them (movistar) and finish as we did with an America’s Cup style tacking dual into Wellington. Wellington has turned it on for us - there was a massive reception and we are very pleased to be here. For the next few days we will concentrate on fixing the few small things that we damaged on this leg and catch up on sleep and food before the next leg which is going to be very tough.”

British crewmember Rob Greenhalgh said: “No one can be upset with that, it was a great race - we’ll never have another one like that again in our lives. We were certainly pushing hard for the last 24 hours with more people on deck than usual, although always trying to keep the guys rested too. I probably had four hours sleep last night, we’ve been full on since 4 am, and since then we have been sailing in our in port race positions. Second is a good result. Consistency is the key, keep putting them in and you can win the event.”

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