This takes the total number of boats entered to six with at least four other teams close to completion as the race nears the year-to-go mark.
The team will be headed by Richard Brisius and Johan Salen, whose Swedish-based company Atlant achieved three podium finishes in the last three Whitbread/Volvo races.
The lines of the new Volvo Open 70 will be an exclusive drawing from Farr Yacht Design. Construction will begin immediately, overseen by Britain’s Jason Carrington who carried out a similar role with the Assa Abloy team for the last race.
“We have always been confident that we would have at least eight boats on the start line and now we have a good chance of exceeding that number,” said Angus Buchanan, head of sponsorship at the Volvo Ocean Race.
“We understand that the sponsor of boat six will take a bit more time to officially unveil as they will be tying their announcement in to a major marketing campaign to be launched during the spring of 2005“.
