Two new recruits for Global Ocean Race team Cessna Citation: Sam Goodchild and Adrian Kuttel

With two days remaining until the start of the Class40, double-handed Global Ocean Race 2011-12 (GOR) Leg 2 this Sunday in Cape Town, Conrad Colman has announced the recruitment of two fresh co-skippers for his Akilaria RC2 Class40, Cessna Citation. Artemis Offshore Academy winner, Figaro specialist and rising star of British solo and shorthanded sailing, Sam Goodchild, will race with Colman on the forthcoming Leg 2 from Cape Town to Wellington, New Zealand, and the highly-experienced South African racing skipper and watch captain, Adrian Kuttel, will join Colman in New Zealand for Leg 3 from Wellington to Punta del Este, Uruguay.

For Colman, finding a co-skipper for Leg 2 since Hugo Ramon left the project after Leg 1 has been a full-time occupation: “It’s great to have a co-skipper for this leg and especially one of Sam’s calibre,” said the 27 year-old Kiwi at the GOR Leg 1 prize giving on Thursday night. “It has been a hard slog since Hugo left the project and it’s great that Sam has got here in the nick of time,” he continues. With two days remaining until the Leg 2 start gun fires at 14:00 GMT on Sunday, Colman and Goodchild have only the fine details of boat preparation to complete. 

“The boat is in very good shape, the sails have been fixed and we’ve just got to throw the food on the boat and push off,” Colman confirms. “We only met a couple of hours ago and he hasn’t swung any punches yet, so it’s all good!” The combination of Colman’s Mini 6.50 background and Goodchild’s Figaro experience makes a formidable pairing: “With just two crew it’s impossible to split jobs,” Colman believes. “We both have different experience on the water and on land, so we’ve got a lot of knowledge and skills to bring together.”

Arriving in Cape Town late on Thursday afternoon, 21 year-old Goodchild is keen to get sailing. “I’m really looking forward to racing with Conrad and going to this mythical place, the Southern Ocean,” says the former 2008 Youth National Match Racing Champion. For the past two years, Goodchild has focused on intensive Figaro racing, training at the French offshore sailing school, CEM, before winning the Artemis Offshore Academy scholarship earlier this year. “The opportunity to race in the Southern Ocean doesn’t come along very often, so I am excited to see what it’s all about, and maybe next time I’ll be back in the solo, non-stop Vendée Globe!” he continues.