Mike Sanderson Quotations

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.