On October 3rd 2008, Team Delta Lloyd unveiled its international crew for the first stage of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008- 09. Skipper Ger O'Rourke (IRL) and his team made it happen within three months. All the hard work and full commitment of everyone brought the eighth entry to the start of this unique opportunity.

The renewed Delta Lloyd VO 70, former ABN AMRO One, is ready to sail and takes on the challenge. The two scheduled In-Port races are to be sailed on Saturday October 4th 2008 and can be followed live on http://www.volvooceanrace.org/.

The final sprint to meet the first deadline of October 3rd was intensive. Within three weeks, the Delta Lloyd had to be branded, the hydraulics were revised, the new sails arrived, the crew flew to New Castle for the required 2-day Crew Member Safety Training Course and the measurement had to be done. It was the hands on approach that helped the Dutch/Irish syndicate through the whole process.

Although there was not much time left for practicing on the water, coach Maurice Paardenkooper (NED) and his panel were able to come up with a high level formation. The squad brings the experience of six Volvo Ocean Races onboard.

"According to the rule, the offshore crew has to include fifty percent of the sailors who did the qualifier" said Paardenkooper.

"With that in mind, I already made a short-list based on certain criteria. We also looked at technical skills that are necessary onboard, since you need to be self-supporting out on the ocean. And today, I pushed the guys hard to decide on the last question marks."

On October 11th, the following persons will line up for the first leg to Cape Town:

Ger O'Rourke (IRL), skipper
Stuart Wilson (NZL), watch captain
Stuart Molloy (NZL), watch captain
Gerd-Jan Poortman (NED)
Ed van Lierde (NED)
Bert Schandevyl (BEL)
Matthew Gregory (USA)
Edwin O'Connor (IRL)
Martin Watts (GBR)
Ryan Houston (NZL)
Sander Pluijm (NED), Media Crew Member

Visit www.volvooceanrace.org for all the latest news!

The Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 will be the 10th running of this ocean marathon. Starting from Alicante in Spain, on 4 October 2008 with in-port racing, it will, for the first time, take in Cochin, India, Singapore and Qingdao, China before finishing in St Petersburg, Russia for the first time in the history of the race.

Spanning some 37,000 nautical miles, stopping at 11 ports and taking nine months to complete, the Volvo Ocean Race is the world's premier yacht race for professional racing crews.