Anders Lewander, skipper of Ericsson’s ‘Nordic’ boat in the 2008-09 race, and his crew aboard their 2005-06 entry, have taken line honours in the Swedish long distance classic – the Gotland Runt, starting and finishing from the picturesque island of Sandhamn on the outer rim of the Stockholm archipelago.
The team completed the 429 nautical mile long course in less than 48 hours as their crew selection programme continues. On the last half of the race Ericsson passed all its competitors to cross the finish line in Sandhamn under spinnaker.
"It has been a fantastic race and everybody did their best to get us through the course as fast as possible," Sweden’s Lewander said.
Ericsson Racing Team will have two boats on the Volvo Ocean Race start line next year. One skippered by John Kostecki (USA) with an international crew, and Lewander’s Nordic entry.
The Gotland Runt was also an opportunity for Lewander to try out a five potential Nordic sailors for the next Volvo.
The next phase of Lewander’s crew selection process will see another 10 potential Nordic crew members put through their paces. Lewander and Volvo Ocean Race and Whitbread veteran Magnus Olsson will be evaluating Nordic sailors on a three-day offshore trial.
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