May 1, 2006, Baltimore, Maryland – Two thousand people came together at the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore last night to congratulate the prize winners from leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06.

As well as presenting the top three finishers from the leg, three additional awards were also presented.

Making a change from tradition, for the first time one of the prize giving awards was presented to two people who have spent very little time actually onboard a boat.

The media prize, normally awarded to a crewmember for capturing a fantastic account of the sea via email or pictures, went to two people who spent very little time on boats this year.

Movistar’s media team of Maria Bertrand and Javier Sobrino work tirelessly to encourage and coerce news organisations to cast the limelight on their campaign. They contentedly remain in the shadow. But their work has so far earned live television coverage of the Sanxenxo and Rio de Janeiro In-port races on TVE, a national station in Spain, led to the printing of 5,800 articles and seen their team featured 670 times on various television shows. It has amounted to a level of exposure worth €21.88million so far.

“Fantastic work and invaluable to our sport,” said Gary Jobson, the emcee, as he called them to the stage to collect a cheque for $1,000.

Javier said, “We are very happy. This prize is not just for Maria and me, but for the whole team. Spain is a huge sailing country and is very proud of the team.”

Back in line with tradition, the Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics Ocean Watch Environmental Award, presented by Wallenius Wilhelmsen Senior Vice President Commercial John Felitto, went to ABN AMRO ONE skipper Mike Sanderson.

His thought-provoking emails about gannets in flight and the strains of over-fishing by commercial trawlers highlighted perfectly the plight of those trying to save the ocean before it becomes a stretch of lifeless water.

Andy Meiklejohn from Brasil 1 won the coveted Musto Seamanship Award having been nominated by his skipper, Torben Grael, for bravely going up the mast to untangle elements of the mainsail during a vicious squall.

There were no surprises with the rest of the prize giving. Pirates of the Caribbean and movistar both took to the stage to receive their Waterford Trophies for third and second place respectively. Finally the familiar sound of the ABN AMRO ONE theme tune played out encouraging Mike Sanderson and his team to get up on stage to receive the prize for first place in leg five.

Proceedings were wrapped up perfectly with a performance by Sandtown, a group of street children living in a music hostel. The crowd heard how they walk through dangerous neighbourhoods en route to rehearsals where they can do what they love. “Triumph in adversity,” is how they see it, and the links to the Volvo Ocean Race were quite obvious.

American singing sensation John Legend took to his piano and provided the final entertainment before the evening came to a close.

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