Mike Sanderson Quotations

We are all very excited, (with) five Kiwis on board we have had an enjoyable race to date and we're looking forward to getting back down into some familiar waters now.

If it's less than eight knots, we are going to struggle mightily. If it's 8-11, it will be an even race. If it gets over 13, that is when we kick into another gear. We knew this bay would be one of the scariest places to sail because it has a history of being light.

It is a very windy, wet and wild part of the world.

It is a very wet and windy part of the world. Throw in some growlers and a couple of Russian fishing fleets and it is an obstacle course that will provide for some interesting weeks and very nervous times.

We've had a pretty wild couple of days. It feels like a Southern Ocean leg again. It's that familiar old feeling of wishing you were there, and once you get there you just look forward to getting out!

It was an unbelievable yacht race, no doubt about that. I got a shocking start and had to dig our way out of that and we were on the pace on the first beat. I told the guys it was going to be a long race and that we would have to dig in.

The teams and designers are responsible for putting the boats together and deciding how we want to do that - whether we want lighter and faster materials or whether we want heavier and more robust materials.

It looks like all our hard work and our new approach has paid off.

Still pretty slow going ... as we are pretty much directly downwind from Rio.

It's been tough since we left Wellington, but we've done some amazing sailing. I think the guys did an awesome job.

Once again, the boys have done a fantastic job. I am always happy, but today I am more than happy and I am very proud to be part of this team. It is a great day for us and I am looking forward to getting onto dry land here in America.

I get a bit annoyed when I hear people say the in-port racing isn't a big deal because it certainly is. This race is worth the same as the leg from Wellington (New Zealand) to Rio and that was 6,700 miles.

Certainly we've had some stints where we averaged over 25 knots for an hour, and then you're up to the 600-mile day scenario. A lot of the guys here were the first to do 500 miles, and it would be nice to get the 600 but as always we're here to win points. We keep reminding ourselves that we don't need to win this leg where perhaps other boats do, and so we mustn't allow ourselves to be pressured into pushing the boat too hard.