At a city hall press conference in central Stockholm today, Wednesday the 23rd of January, the Swedish capital, Stockholm, was announced as the final stopover for the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 before its finish in the Russian Baltic port of St Petersburg in July 2009.  During the stopover, between 16 – 25 June 2009, Stockholm will also host an in-port race as well as a pro-am race in its famous archipelago.

It was the Mayor of Stockholm, Kristina Axén Olin, joined by Ulla Hamilton, Vice-Mayor and Chairman of Ports of Stockholm, and the CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race, Glenn Bourke, who made the announcement. Since Stockholm is also the home port of our team, the Ericsson Racing Team, with the building of our boats in Kista and an all-Nordic crew in the race,  Skipper Anders Lewander was also participating at the press conference.   

"I feel proud when I am thinking of Stockholm as the second to last stop during the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009, " says Anders Lewander, Skipper of Ericsson's Nordic crew and a Stockholmer by birth. "I believe few of the international crews can grasp what to expect from Stockholm, our great city surrounded by the archipelago."
 
"My guess is that we will see different and difficult racing up until the finish in Stockholm as the leg from Gothenburg to Stockholm is closer to land than the rest of the race. This will provide the fleet with a challenging weather model, land effects, sea breaze and other wind effects due to the big differences in water and air temperatures," Lewander explains.
 
The City of Stockholm can look forward to a great event, greeting boats and crew that have by then done close to 38000 miles at sea. With experiences from former Tall Ship races and water front events, I believe Stockholm can turn this into a spectacular event. I do hope we will be able to fulfil an in-port race close to our audiences on land."
 
On board the Nordic crew, Skipper Anders Lewander is so far the only Swede. But with him, he has many fellow sailors from the Nordic countries, used to sail in these waters. Will this be an advantage?
"I dont think the local knowledge will be what will place us good or bad on this leg," Anders reflects, "but I think other things will matter, such as the feeling of sailing in our home turf, that always brings extra forces out of people. And our hopes will of course be high for this leg."

Read more on the Volvo Ocean Race website