Yachting: Keen Kiwi skipper plans two world circuits

Grant Dalton's sixth world race will be a record - but done for the right reasons, writes SUZANNE McFADDEN.

Zealous Kiwi sailor Grant Dalton will attempt to circle the globe twice in a year, as he enters a record sixth round-the-world race.

On the eve of Dalton's voyage on a giant catamaran in the non-stop circumnavigation The Race, work is underway on his new boat for the Volvo Ocean Race, which starts next September.

The Volvo 60 yacht is being built in France, with a second one in the pipeline, from a different designer.

The campaign is backed by a band of European sponsors, yet to be named.

The 42-year-old professional skipper has already sailed a record five Whitbreads (the race renamed the Volvo).

Speaking last night from Barcelona, where his Club Med catamaran is geared up to start on New Year's Eve, Dalton said he still had the appetite to continue racing around the world.

"No one else will have raced around the world as often as I have, but that isn't the reason I'm doing this," he said. "First of all, it was the desire of the people who are paying the money that I skipper the boat.

"I thought long and hard about it, and I figured I'm enjoying this campaign so much I could keep going. Proving I can get enough time after The Race to get space around me, I will sail another one. And THEN I will retire."

For the past few months, Dalton has been working on the Club Med project during the day, and toiling over the new campaign through the night.

The first Volvo 60 has been designed by German Frers, the Argentine designer who helped to draw up Prada's boats for the last America's Cup.

The yacht is now under construction at a boatyard in La Ciatat near Marseilles. A second 60-footer would be designed by New Zealander Bruce Farr, who is designing the bulk of boats in the next Volvo.

Fellow Kiwi Chris Dickson used a similar ploy for the 1993-94 race, when his two Tokio boats had different designers.

While Dalton is at sea for the next two or three months, he will have New Zealand boat builder Paul Quinn overlooking the new project.

"We have just begun the process of finding a crew. We are going to go outside the square and blood new people this time," Dalton said.

"There are a lot of successful Olympic sailors around. Some of the old guys are still in this race for the wrong reasons. If I was, I'd get out."

Dalton has never lost hope of doing a sixth round-the-world race, even when potential agreements fell through over the past 18 months.

He began his incredible round-the-world career in the 1981 race on board Flyer. He was watch captain for Sir Peter Blake on Lion New Zealand, before skippering Fisher and Paykel, 1994 winning boat New Zealand Endeavour and then Merit Cup in the last race.

Dalton's entry would bring the start-list up to eight.