In the Spanish stage harbour of Cartagena on Sunday afternoon, an International Jury appointed by the World Sailing Federation heard the two protests arising from the collision between Allagrande Mapei and Holcim PRB at the start of the first leg of the Ocean Race Europe. There will be reparations for Team Holcim-PRB, but no further penalties. The exact reasons for the jury's judgement were not initially available in the evening.
Kiel crash, comeback, hearing and decision
Both boats were damaged less than two minutes after the starting signal for the Ocean Race Europe off Kiel. They had to return to the harbour and fought with their teams and lots of valuable help in Kiel and at the Knierim Yachtbau shipyard to get them repaired as quickly as possible. It was a challenging race against time for both teams, as the starting shot for the second leg from Portsmouth to Cartagena was due to be fired just one week later.
Both teams involved in the crash managed to make a comeback in time. Both were able to finish the second leg. Both had previously lodged protests about the collision, which the International Jury has now decided on. Prior to the hearing, the other teams participating in the Ocean Race Europe had also been questioned. The jury had asked the teams to comment on what compensation they considered appropriate.
Now the jury's decision: Team Holcim-PRB receives the hoped-for compensation. At the end of the five legs (and before the final coastal race in Montenegro), Holcim-PRB's result for the uncontested first leg will correspond to the average score of the results achieved in legs 2 to 5. This score, which will change over the coming legs, will be included in the intermediate scores for the first time after the end of the third leg in Nice. The International Jury also decided that neither of the two teams will be penalised (beyond the abandonment of the opening leg).
After the jury decision: Holcim-PRB "satisfied"
"We are pleased with the jury's decision, which allows us to receive points for the first leg that fairly reflect the team's performance throughout the race. This was an important decision as we can now focus on sailing and achieving the best performance on the water for the rest of the event," summarised Alan Roberts for Team Holcim-PRB after the hearing. The Brit represented his team at the hearing.
Team Holcim-PRB will not receive any compensation for the lost opportunity to score bonus points at the first scoring gate of the first stage. The remaining bonus points that can be scored at the early classification gates of each stage will also have no influence on the compensation. Click here for the intermediate results of the Ocean Race Europe.
Alan Roberts' final thoughts on the crash and protest case: "The whole process has been very difficult for us and certainly for Allagrande Mapei Racing. We are glad that we can now get out of the jury room and back on the water." Both sailors explained that they now want to concentrate fully on the upcoming stages.
Allagrande Mapei Racing "respects" decision
"The jury has decided not to award us any compensation. We respect their decision, even if it is not the result we had hoped for. This is part of our sport and we accept it," said Ambrogio Beccaria, skipper of Allagrande Mapei Racing. "It was a difficult situation for both teams. Now we are focussing our energy on the race again. There are still three important stages ahead of us on the way to Montenegro."
The other teams have also been watching the case very closely. Team Malizia's stage skipper Will Harris said on Sunday evening after the decision: "It's an interesting topic. Of course we're interested in them getting less compensation because we're rivals on the water. But equally we want fair racing. I think there are several aspects. I wouldn't say I'm strongly against compensation."
But it's interesting that they get a whole stage's worth of points. That's quite a lot." Will Harris
Will Harris, who is known as a fair player, explained further: "I think that's because none of the crew members sailed to Portsmouth themselves afterwards. They left that to their shore crew. They are better rested than the other crews. I think that gives them a bit of an advantage. And I also believe that we are all sailors and good seamanship is important."
Any collision that occurs is always down to poor seamanship on both sides, because one side is not in the right in the collision - in this case Mapei - but Holcim also had a duty to avoid any collision." Will Harris
At this point, Will Harris goes into a little more detail: "The reason they couldn't avoid this collision is that they were out of control. They lost control of their boat because the keel went to the wrong side. I think they got themselves into this situation. That's the reason why I think redress points worth a whole leg's worth of the average score of all the leg results is quite a lot."
But it's also good that they're back in the race and can fight." Will Harris
The jury hearing began at 3.30pm local time on Sunday afternoon in Cartagena, where the teams have just reached the end of the second leg of the Ocean Race Europe and will continue on Tuesday. Team Holcim-PRB took second place, with Allagrande Mapei Racing finishing fourth.
Ocean Race Europe: more than half of the points are still waiting
The jury had scheduled a second hearing for Sunday afternoon in Cartagena for a technical protest between the Imoca class measurers and Holcim PRB after the team itself reported that it had accidentally broken the seal on its engine on stage two. In such a case, the measurer is obliged to bring the incident before the jury, which then decides whether to impose a penalty. There was no penalty here either.
After the important protest decision in the crash case, it's now time for the next race, in which everything is still possible despite the dominance of "Biotherm" so far. "Paprec Arkéa" skipper Yoann Richomme put it in a nutshell in Cartagena: "We are still playing for more than half the points - 25 have been distributed, but 35 are still up for grabs."
