Sebastien Josse, skipper of ABN AMRO Two announced this morning that he and his crew will continue in the 2005/6 Volvo Ocean Race. The crew’s participation in the race was thrown into doubt following the tragic death of their crewmate, Hans Horrevoets and since the incident Team ABN AMRO management made it clear that they would fully support the decision of the crew regarding their future participation. After racing in Monday’s in port race and finishing in a credible fourth place, the brave young team now intend to fight their way back onto the race podium with no doubt in their minds that this is what Hans would want.

Seb Josse announced the team’s plans and said: “We are all agreed that we want to continue this race for Hans and that it is what he would have wanted us to do. After the tragic events of the last leg we needed to take some time to ourselves before deciding what next but we are all in agreement that this is what we want to do. I was very pleased with the way the crew performed on Monday in the in-port race and there was real determination from everyone to do well. We now have to concentrate on getting back on the podium in time for the finish in Gothenburg.”

Seb Josse and the ABN AMRO Two crew were also presented with the Seamanship award at the Volvo Ocean Race Leg 7 prizegiving for the fantastic effort and seamanship that they showed in first finding and getting Hans back on board and then going on to rescue the movistar crew. They were praised for the professional manner in which they carried out the manoeuvres during a very difficult time.

Bouwe Bekking, skipper of the stricken yacht, movistar was there to present the award to the crew and commented: “It was hard to ask the ABN AMRO Two boys to come back as they already had plenty on their plate. It’s been a very hard call for them and, hopefully, they can find a little comfort in the fact that they have saved 10 lives. A boat is just a boat, you can replace it, but lives you cannot.”

ABN AMRO Two are currently in fourth place overall just three and a half points behind Brasil 1 and nine points behind the Pirates of the Caribbean in second place. Whilst ABN AMRO One can no longer be beaten in the Volvo Ocean Race, it is entirely possible for ABN AMRO Two to pull through to take one of the two remaining podium positions, with a maximum of 17.5 points still available for the taking in this race.

The Team now begin preparations for Leg 8, which starts on Friday 2 June, at 1730hrs just off Southsea Castle, at the southern tip of the city of Portsmouth. From here they will race through the western Solent, out into the English Channel, past Land’s End and out towards the Fastnet Rock, before heading northwards round the top of Britain and Ireland en route to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, home of Team ABN AMRO.

Current Overall Results

1st ABN AMRO One – 84.5 pts

2nd Pirates of the Caribbean – 59.5 pts

3rd Brasil 1 – 52 pts

4th ABN AMRO Two – 48.5 pts

5th movistar – 48 pts

6th Ericsson – 45 pts

7th Brunel – 8pts