Yachting: Black Betty's triumph fulfils skipper's dreams

Eight months ago New Zealander Mike Sanderson was hardly confident about his chances in the round-the-world yacht race.

It wasn't his crew - which includes New Zealanders Mark Christensen, Brad Jackson, Tony Mutter and David Endean - that concerned him, they were all experienced enough ... it was his boat he was slightly unsure about.

Designed by Argentinian Juan Kouyoumdjian the yacht, known as "Black Betty" was different to the others.

Firstly it was not created by design guru Bruce Farr, who has designed every race winner in the past 20 or so years.

Secondly it was a lot wider than the other boats in the fleet and optimised for moderate to heavy conditions.

It was also the first race in the new 70-foot yachts - highly strung racing machines designed to soar the world's most dangerous seas at great knots.

"I know that a Farr-designed boat has won every Volvo or Whitbread since the early 1980s or something," Sanderson said before the race started in November.

"We are very conscious that our boats are from a different designer but we have also gone down a very different path as well. Only time will tell."

Eight months later ABN Amro One stood on the podium in Gothenberg, Sweden, having claimed victory in the 31,250-nautical-mile race.

The last leg, a 500-nautical-mile sprint from Rotterdam, was won by Paul Cayard's Pirates of the Caribbean on Saturday. ABN Amro Two were second and Brasil 1 third.

ABN Amro One finished last but that was of little consequence as they had the race sewn up in leg seven, such was their lead.

Sanderson and his team won six out of nine offshore legs plus five out of seven inshore races. While their boat was clearly faster than the rest in moderate to heavy conditions, the sailing team were also exceptional.

Not only did they contribute heavily to the design of the boat but on the race course they nailed the tricky tactical decisions.

"This is a dream come true," said Sanderson, who follows in the footsteps of Sir Peter Blake and Grant Dalton, who have also won the race.

"This is my Olympic medal. I wanted to win the Volvo Ocean Race and that's what we've done. We took a bit of a slow bus to get to the party but we made it!"

Watch captain Christensen also became the first person to win three round-the-world races.

In regard to the future of the race, organisers have announced changes to its route and four-year cycle.

The next race, to begin in 2008 in line with a new three-yearly format, may now feature stops in Asia and the Middle East - and the Volvo Open 70 design will return.

FINAL PLACINGS
Volvo ocean race

* ABN Amro One (Ned) 96.0 (right)
* Pirates of the Caribbean (US) 73.0
* Brasil 1 (Brazil) 67.0
* ABN Amro Two (Ned) 58.5
* Ericsson Racing Team (Swe) 55.0
* movistar (Spain) 48
* Brunel (Australia) 15.5