SAIL

: Volvo Extreme 40 : Conrad Humphreys Racing to compete in new circuit with Team GBR members Leigh McMillan and Will Howden

Plymouth, UK 6th October 2005. Conrad Humphreys Racing today announced that it will enter a British team in the Volvo Extreme 40 (VX40) grand prix circuit during 2005-06. The Great Britain VX40, which is sponsored by Motorola, will be skippered by Humphreys and includes Team GBR members Leigh McMillan and Will Howden, both British hopefuls for Beijing 2008 and Global Challenge winning navigator Hamish Oliphant.

The Motorola-Humphreys VX40 is a 40ft one-design multihull that has been designed for fast-paced inshore grand prix racing. The new circuit which will be held during some of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06 stopovers, including Spain, Brazil, US, UK and Holland. The first grand prix starts in Sanxenxo, Spain, during the first week of November.

Humphreys will compete in both the IMOCA Open 60 and the VX40 grand prix circuits in 2005-06. Combining both the inshore grand prix racing and the offshore Open 60 sailing will provide a greater resource for training, team development and performance. It also enables partners of Conrad Humphreys Racing greater flexibility in using the medium of sailing as a marketing and communications platform.

Conrad Humphreys, Managing Director commented, “The VX40 campaign will provide a number of opportunities going forward: It is an exciting boat to train and race with the best catamaran sailors in the world which will improve our competitive edge; the grand prix is global and gives our partners greater visibility worldwide and also provides the chance for employees and customers to sail as part of a high performance team. The mix is perfect!”

Margaret Rice-Jones, corporate vice president, Motorola Inc. and general manager, Motorola Networks, EMEA, commented, “We are excited to be sponsoring the Team GBR VX40 and supporting Conrad and his crew. This new VX40 circuit covers ports worldwide and ours is a global market. Their commitment to winning matches our own drive to deliver upon customer expectations and market share in the region. The races demand true team work and focus - key elements to winning in business.”

Info Vikki Cheung / http://www.conradhumphreysracing.com

31 August 2005 : Elsmieke Havenga christened the Holmatro II at the Hiswa in-water Boat Show

On Monday August 29 2005, Dutch television presentor and former hockey international Elsmieke Havenga christened the Holmatro II at the Hiswa in-water Boat Show in IJmuiden. In the presence of a large audience, the champaign bottle exploded against the beam of the first Volvo Extreme 40 catamaran. Glenn Bourke, CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race, came over for this special moment and announced the program of the Grand Prix series.

“I am very proud of these two Dutch olympic sailors, who realised their idea”, said Jaap Meijer, Chairman of Holmatro. While watching the 40-feet catamaran: “This project is a great opportunity for Holmatro to show its marine products worldwide to the public.” According to Herbert Dercksen, olympic Tornado sailor, it was the desire to change the world of sailing that inspired him and Mitch Booth: “Everything happens far away on the ocean. We wanted to compete in-harbour, visible for the audience. But there is less wind, so we needed a spectaculair boat with a lot of sail. In addition, it had to fit into a container, because we wanted to go overseas. That was our dream and here she is.”

“Mitch and I have a long history in olympic sailing”, said Glenn Bourke, who was a successful Laser-sailor. “When Mitch came with his plan, I thought: “This might be exactly what we want.” We want to bring the public to the Volvo Ocean Race and the VX40-class has a pulling power. The grand prix series will be sailed in Vigo (ESP), prior to the start. And during the stopovers of Rio de Janeiro (BRA), Baltimore (USA), Portsmouth (GBR) and Rotterdam (NED). We are looking forward to having them with us around the world.”

After the christening, the Holmatro II sailed out with Mitch Booth on the helm. Guests and press were invited to experience the feeling of speed and fun. They enjoyed their short trip under sail. People watching the catamaran from ashore were aslo astonished by its speed.

“In 2002, we bought a Grand Soleil 44 race in order to test our products”, explained Rinus Reefman, Commercial Director Holmatro. “In several yachting magazines we invited young, talented sailors to subscribe for the selection. We formed a group and skipper Hans Horrevoets and Gidean Messink made a team of it. The last two seasons they competed very successfully in the international IMS1- circuit.”

03 August 2005 : The first Volvo Extreme 40 sailed its first mile on the windy waters of Vastervik in Sweden

Today, around 2 pm, it all happened. After months of hard work the 40 foot long catamaran, the Volvo Extreme 40 sailed her first mile. The boat was launched on the windy waters of Vastervik in Sweden (about 100 miles south of Stockholm). Today there were only 12-14 knots of wind, but that was enough for the monster catamaran to easily reach 22 knots under gennaker.

Rinus Reefman, Managing Director of Holmatro, the world leaders in hydraulic rescue equipment, was delighted: “It is nice to see this cat sailing and we’re so proud to have the first one afloat.”

A team of top sailors have been involved in the project; Englishman Derek Clark, Team GBR America’s Cup Project Manager, was (again) the Project Manager; Creator Mitch Booth (two times Olympic medallist); Designer Yves Loday (gold medallist from Barcelona 1992) and World Champion and the man behind the whole idea Herbert Dercksen.

Dercksen said: “The Volvo Extreme 40 is designed for Grand Prix Harbour racing. After boat shows in Holland (IJmuiden, at the end of August) and Southampton (end of September), five of these catamarans will be prepared for their first race in November. During the stopovers in the participating cities, people can see these catamarans sailing inside the ports themselves.”

The Volvo Extreme 40 weighs 1250 kilo’s and the mast length is 62 feet with a sail area of 125m² upwind and 220m² downwind. Today six men made up the crew and even though there was only a light breeze it was easy to fly on one hull, which was very impressive. Skipper Mitch Booth said: “This cat [amaran] is like a sports car. She sails so fast, so easily and reacted quickly too. Really impressive.”

Raamsdonksveer, Netherlands, July 25, 2005 : First cat to be launched, Team Holmatro shows its true colours

Team Holmatro will be the first of the Volvo Extreme 40 teams to be launched and today have revealed the striking graphics of their new 40 ft sports Catamaran.

The Volvo Extreme 40, an exciting new mid-size multihull has been purpose-designed for grand prix racing. The Volvo Extreme 40 series will form part of the in-port entertainment during the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06 stopovers. The Team Holmatro boat will be on the water next Wednesday, July 27.

Holmatro are world leaders in hydraulic rescue equipment and now continuing to expand into the Marine industry with a range of hydraulic hardware under the name Holmatro Marine.

“We are so excited in this new project and really looking forward to having our first test sail. We saw this class and series as a great opportunity to bring our marine products to the market at the highest level,” said Jaap Meijer, chairman of Holmatro.

The fleet of Volvo Extreme 40’s will be fitted with Holmatro hydraulic downhaul and mainsheet systems. The boats will also come with custom built Meissner winches that have been designed specifically for these high speed race cats. Holmatro are official class supplier for hydraulics and winches (the winches are promoted under the brand name Meissner).

The Holmatro sailing team will include multihull expert Mitch Booth as helmsman and multi world champion Herbert Dercksen as tactician. The remaining crew members will be finalised shortly.

“It is great to work together Holmatro who share the same passion for the sport of sailing and enthusiasm for this extreme project,” commented Mitch.