A third entry from Sweden and the fourth from Scandinavia for the 1997/98 Whitbread Race was announced in Stockholm yesterday with the return of two veteran campaigners, Gunnar Krantz and Robert Nilsson.
Krantz will skipper and Nilsson navigate a pounds 6.5m challenge, backed by Swedish Match in a move away from the rival Grand Mistral race. Krantz sailed as watch-leader for Nilsson on The Card in 1989/90, before going on to skipper Sweden's yacht in the 1992 America's Cup. He was alongside Nilson again in 1993/94 on Intrum Justitia before Lawrie Smith took over. Krantz later moved to Chris Dickson's Tokio. Smith now skippers Sweden's EF Education, which will have an all-female entry.
No decision has yet been taken on who will design and build his new yacht, Krantz said. "Most of the top syndicates are leaving it very late. We have chosen to participate in the Whitbread rather than the Grand Mistral because the Whitbread offers the greatest sporting competition and the largest commercial potential benefits for our partners."
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