Country: Netherlands
Skipper: Mike Sanderson
Navigator: Stan Honey
Designer: Juan Kouyoumdjian
Builder: Killian Bushe
Launch Date: January 2005

Boasting one of the most highly-paid skippers in the 2005/06 Volvo Ocean Race sailing a boat that was the first to be launched and sailing, expectations are high in the ABN AMRO One camp. Mike 'Moose' Sanderson, (below) came fresh from the mainsheet of Oracle BMW in the 2003 America's Cup via a season sailing the Open 60 Pindar where he acquitted himself well with a second place finish in the 2004 Transat. But Sanderson cut his teeth at the Grant Dalton school of yachting sailing with Dalton on Merit Cup and before that New Zealand Endeavour in previous round the world races and his crew selection reflects that background with both his watch leaders - Brad Jackson and Mark Christensen - being Kiwis who have won the race twice.

Long-time Steve Fossett and Roy Disney navigator Stan Honey gets his first chance to sample the Southern Ocean after missing out on Fossett's successful non-stop round the world record due to work commitments and Sanderson has brought in British skiff sailor Rob Greenhalgh to enhance the skiff-style driving skills.

Unfortunately for the ABN 1 team, some of the value of launching early was lost when the boat - designed by Argentinean Jan Kouyoumdjian - needed a mid-year refit to modify daggerboard and steering systems; but the boat is still one of the most rigorously-tested machines in the starting line-up. And the boat is radical too: Kouyoumdjian has yet to prove himself in round the world racing and has given his creative urges free rein: his design has a large speedboat chine aft and a cunning hollow alongside the swinging keel, presumably to reduce the pressure build-up in the water flow when the keel is canted hard over.

This is the big break for Sanderson who has previously played supporting roles in major ocean races but he is surrounded by experience and should have amassed a sufficient number of ocean miles to have reached a reasonable state of reliability. The design of the boat is untested against yardstick opposition but ultimately this race may not be one of boat speed.