Dave Kneale / Volvo Ocean Race
Tuesday 6 January, 2009 05:30 GMT
Scottish sailor Ian Budgen, widely known throughout the sailing community as Budgie, has joined the Green Dragon Racing Team as a replacement for Damian Foxall on the fourth leg from Singapore to Qingdao.
"Ian was looking for a replacement for Damian and we had been in touch so he rang me before Christmas and asked if I would like to come along," said Budgen. "I am really looking forward to being back in the Volvo 70s. I have a lot of friends on board so it will be nice to step in among friends.
"I was looking at the weather forecast and the conditions and it will be upwind the whole way. The last few days will be very cold - ten days ago it was -1 with 25 knots of wind on the nose and snow. The boats are a big enough handful when it's warm but when it is cold and you have to wear gloves and hats and your movements and hearing are restricted, that will make things even more complicated."
The 38 year-old all rounder, whose experience ranges from Olympic 49er campaigns to America's Cup and TP52s, returns to the Volvo Ocean Race after sailing for five legs with Paul Cayard's Pirates of the Caribbean in 2005-2006.
Then, he joined the race in Rio as driver/trimmer, one of the younger members of the crew and continued through to their triumphant finish in Gothenburg, where Pirates were runners-up overall to ABN AMRO ONE.
His association with Pirates skipper Paul Cayard, which had started in 2005 when he joined George Andreadis' TP52 Lexus-Atalanti, continued after the Volvo Ocean Race when he returned to the TP52 circuit on Lexus-Atalanti.
Based in Hamble in the south of England, Budgen has raced with most of the existing Green Dragon crew, either in the Solent or further afield and his arrival will give Foxall, who has been with the boat since the start in Alicante, a much needed rest.
"Damian came straight from the Barcelona World Race and understandably his wife took some persuading to let him go round again," said skipper Ian Walker.
"We did the same with navigator Ian Moore - if you can give these guys one leg off, especially when there is a longer stopover, it makes a big difference. Guys who have had time off like Tom Braidwood and Ian Moore have come back refreshed and raring to go."
Also re-joining Green Dragon for the In Port race will be America’s Cup sailors David Carr and Julian Cressant, both sailed onboard during the In Port racing in Alicante. Regular crew members Ian Moore and Tom Braidwood also return after their break from the previous leg.
Listen to Ian Budgen speak about joining the Green Dragon crew here.
- Kate Laven