Neal McDonald

Last updated

Neal McDonald (born 22 July 1963) [1] is a British sailor who has competed in seven Volvo Ocean Races.

Sailing career

Born in Brighton, McDonald is a qualified naval architect and a member of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors. [2] [3] He represented Great Britain at the 1988 Summer Olympics, sailing a Flying Dutchman with Roger Yeoman. They placed sixth in the event.

He then won the 1989 International 14 World Championship with his brother, Duncan McDonald before campaigning in the 49er class, becoming European Champion. [4] [5] [2]

McDonald first sailed in the Whitbread Round the World Race during the 1993-94 event on Fortuna . The boat broke its mast twice in the first 24 hours of the race, and ended up retiring. [6]

At the 1995 Louis Vuitton Cup, McDonald was the mainsail trimmer and tactician for Sydney ’95. [7]

He competed in the 1997–98 Whitbread Round the World Race on Silk Cut before sailing The Race in 2000/1 aboard Grant Dalton's Club Med . [4] Club Med won The Race.

He then briefly joining GBR Challenge to help them prepare for the 2003 Louis Vuitton Cup. [5] [8] He left the team to concentrate on preparation for the 2001–02 Volvo Ocean Race, which he sailed with Assa Abloy . McDonald was promoted to skipper of Assa Abloy at the end of the first leg, replacing Roy Heiner. With co-skipper Mark Rudiger, Assa Abloy finished second, winning three of the legs - including leg 3 which was the 2001 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. [9] [10] [11] His wife, Lisa McDonald, was the skipper of another entrant, Amer Sports Too . [10] [12]

For the 2005–06 Volvo Ocean Race, McDonald was the skipper of the Ericsson Racing Team . Ericsson Racing Team was beset by technical problems and, after three poor legs, McDonald was demoted to watch captain for leg 5, being replaced by John Kostecki. [2] Following the leg, McDonald was promoted back to skipper for the rest of the race. [13]

He then joined Victory Challenge for the 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup, where he was their traveller and strategist. [5] He was then a watch captain with Green Dragon Racing Team for the 2008–09 Volvo Ocean Race.

McDonald completed his sixth Volvo Ocean Race with Team Telefónica in 2011-12, again as a watch captain. [14] Following the race he announced his retirement. [2]

He accepted an on-shore role for the 2014–15 Volvo Ocean Race, being appointed the performance manager for Azzam . [15] [16] [17] [18] However, he joined the sailing crew for leg 3, replacing an injured Phil Harmer. [19] [20] [21]

He has been appointed the sports and performance director of Mapfre for the 2017–18 Volvo Ocean Race. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Ocean Race</span> Yacht race around the world

The Ocean Race is a yacht race around the world, held every three or four years since 1973. Originally named the Whitbread Round the World Race after its initiating sponsor, British brewing company Whitbread, in 2001 it became the Volvo Ocean Race after Swedish automobile manufacturer Volvo took up the sponsorship, and in 2019 it was renamed The Ocean Race

Volvo Baltic Race was a yacht race held in the Baltic Sea, sponsored by Volvo. It has been held in 2003 and 2004 as training series for VO60 yachts, targeting the Volvo Ocean Race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torben Grael</span> Brazilian sailor

Torben Schmidt Grael is one of the most well known Brazilian sailors, renowned in international competitions. A descendant of Danes, he was taken sailing by his grandfather at the age of five years on the sailboat Aileen, of the 6 Metre class, which was the boat used by the silver medal-winning 1912 Summer Olympics Danish sailing team. Once he moved to Niterói, he started sailing with his brother, Lars Grael, also an Olympic medal winner, on the Bay of Guanabara. Another brother, Axel Grael, is the current mayor of Niterói. He is father of Olympic champion Martine Grael and sailor Marco Grael.

Guillermo Altadill is a Spanish yachtsman. In addition to the Barcelona World Race, Altadill has also competed in 18 Atlantic crossings, six circumnavigations, 300,000+ miles sailed in competition, two Volvo Ocean Race, and two Whitbread Round the World Race. He also was on board the maxi-catamaran Cheyenne when it set the Jules Verne’s record for fastest tour around the world with crew.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2001–2002 Volvo Ocean Race</span>

The 2001–02 Volvo Ocean Race was the eighth edition of the around-the-world sailing event Volvo Ocean Race, and the first under the name Volvo Ocean Race. For the 2001–02 the sponsorship of the race was taken over by Volvo and Volvo Cars. The race was renamed the Volvo Ocean Race. Stopovers were added in Germany, France, and Sweden being the Volvo's three biggest car markets in Europe. In addition the points system had been modified significantly in an effort to keep the race competitive until the final leg. The previous "points" race having been effectively won two full legs before the final gun.

The 1997–98 Whitbread Round the World Race was the seventh edition of the around-the-world sailing event Whitbread Round the World Race. The Whitbread Round the World Race ran for the first time with all W60 boats and to a "points vs time" scoring system to enhance the value of the shorter race legs.

The 1993–94 Whitbread Round the World Race was the sixth edition of the around-the-world sailing event. The race was won by Grant Dalton the maxi 'New Zealand Endeavour'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Walker (sailor)</span> British sailor

Ian James Walker is one of Britain's most successful sailors, with two Olympic silver medals to his name. He is a member of Northampton Sailing Club and Warsash Sailing Club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Read (sailor)</span> American yachtsman (born 1961)

Kenneth Read is an American yachtsman who is considered one of the world's most accomplished and celebrated sailors. He was named United States Rolex Yachtsman of the Year twice, and has won more than 50 world, North American, and national championships in a variety of classes, with eleven of those being World Championships titles in the J/24, Etchells 22 and yacht classes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race</span>

The 2011–12 Volvo Ocean Race was the 11th edition of the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race, yacht race which started with an in-port race in Alicante, Spain on 29 October 2011 with six Volvo Open 70 yachts at the start line and ended with an in-port race in Galway, Ireland on 7 July 2012. The 39,270 NM route involved stopovers and in-port races in Cape Town, Abu Dhabi, Sanya, Auckland, Itajaí, Miami, Lisbon, Lorient, and finally Galway. The race consisted of nine ocean races and ten in-port races.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014–2015 Volvo Ocean Race</span>

The 2014–15 Volvo Ocean Race was the 12th edition of the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race. It started on 19 October 2014 in Alicante, Spain, and concluded in June 2015 in Gothenburg, Sweden. After 38,739 nautical miles of ocean racing, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing led by skipper Ian Walker claimed the overall trophy.

Assa Abloy is a Volvo Ocean 60 yacht that took part in the 2001–02 Volvo Ocean Race where she finished second. She is an 18.3 metres (60 ft) Farr Yacht Design launched in 2001.

<i>Steinlager 2</i>

Steinlager 2 is a Bruce Farr-designed yacht. Skippered by Peter Blake, she won the 1989–90 Whitbread Round the World Race and line honours in the 1989 Fastnet Race. She was the only yacht to ever win all six legs of the Whitbread Round the World Race.

<i>Volvo Ocean 65 Mapfre</i>

MAPFRE is a Volvo Ocean 65 yacht. She finished fourth in the 2014–15 Volvo Ocean Race skippered by Iker Martínez and by Xabi Fernández in the 2017–18 Volvo Ocean Race.

<i>Azzam</i> (2011 yacht)

Azzam was a Volvo Open 70 yacht by Farr Yacht Design. She finished fifth in the 2011–12 Volvo Ocean Race skippered by Ian Walker.

Rob Greenhalgh is a British sailor who has competed in and won both the Volvo Ocean Race and the Extreme Sailing Series.

Kelvin Harrap is a New Zealand sailor who has represented his country at the Summer Olympics and sailed in multiple America's Cups and Volvo Ocean Races.

Ross "Rosco" Halcrow is a New Zealand sailor who has won both the America's Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race.

Robbie Naismith is a New Zealand sailor who has competed in multiple Whitbread Round the World Races and America's Cups.

Sean Clarkson is a New Zealand sailor who has sailed at the Summer Olympics and in multiple Whitbread Round the World Races and America's Cups.

References

  1. ↑ "Neal McDonald" . Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "British sailor Neal McDonald calls time on brilliant Volvo Ocean Race career. One question: will he come back?" . Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  3. ↑ "Sailing: McDonald takes to authority with ease" . Independent.co.uk . 5 January 2002. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022.
  4. 1 2 McDonald, Neal. "America's Cup men have unfortunately missed the boat" . Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 "Neal McDonald joins Victory Challenge - Yachting World". 11 October 2006. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  6. 1 2 www.sailweb.co.uk. "Volvo Ocean Race - Neal McDonald joins MAPFRE". Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  7. ↑ "Neal McDonald joins Victory Challenge". Yachts and Yachting Online. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  8. ↑ "GBR going all out". Daily Echo. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  9. ↑ "Assa Abloy axes skipper Roy Heiner - Australian Sailing". www.sailing.org.au. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  10. 1 2 Laven, Interview by Kate. "Neal McDonald, Britain's most complete offshore sailor, reflects on 200,000 nautical miles" . Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  11. ↑ "Crew changes on Assa Abloy- Skipper Neal McDonald looks ahead".
  12. ↑ "His and Hers Yachts For Married Skippers". The New York Times. 10 March 2002. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  13. ↑ "Read, Rudiger to Join Ericsson". www.sailingworld.com. 25 April 2006. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  14. ↑ "Neal McDonald". www.teamtelefonica.com. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  15. ↑ Race, Volvo Ocean. "Neal McDonald". Volvo Ocean Race. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  16. ↑ Race, Volvo Ocean. "Abu Dhabi snap up McDonald, Khalid as familiar faces return" . Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  17. ↑ Race, Volvo Ocean. "McDonald back to give Abu Dhabi the cutting edge" . Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  18. ↑ "Veteran British Sailor to Lead Abu Dhabi Team". www.onboardonline.com. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  19. ↑ "Neal McDonald back on Azzam as replacement for injured Phil Harmer". 31 December 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  20. ↑ "Neal McDonald's presence beefs up ADOR's quest for Leg 3 honours". sport360.com. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  21. ↑ "Neal McDonald's presence beefs up ADOR's quest for Leg 3 honours" . Retrieved 1 August 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.