Volvo Ocean Race: "It won't be an all-male affair"

The first campaign for the 13th edition of the Volvo Ocean Race was unveiled today in The Hague: With Team AkzoNobel, the Amsterdam-based global paint and coatings manufacturer of the same name is sending a team to the most famous race around the world in 2017/18. At the same time, VOR boss Mark Turner announced at the team presentation in The Hague that the upcoming edition of the ocean marathon will "not be an all-male affair". Turner said it was important that women continue to take part in the race. He left it open as to whether his management will enforce this goal with a quota rule or whether an all-female or alternatively a mixed crew will once again take part - this will be decided in the coming months. But his promise was unequivocal: "We want to bring women's sailing to the fore."

Team AkzoNobel is led by Simeon Tienpont as skipper. The Dutchman has been a very successful sailing professional for a long time. He completed his first Volvo Ocean Race in 2005/06 on "ABN Amro Two". In 2014/15, he joined Team Vestas for the last two legs. Tienpont was then drawn to the America's Cup, where he won the coveted silver trophy twice, first with BMW Oracle Racing and then with Oracle Team USA in the 33rd and 34th editions. Most recently, Tienpont sailed for Softbank Team Japan in the America's Cup World Series under the leadership of Dean Barker. Today, 15 months before the next race start, he announced his upcoming debut as skipper in the Volvo Ocean Race. "I am honoured and very excited to be the skipper of Team AkzoNobel. I can hardly wait for the race to start," said the Dutchman in The Hague.

The international AkzoNobel Group, which employs around 45,000 people, also includes well-known companies in the German shipping and yachting industry such as Sikkens and International. VOR boss Turner said on the beach in The Hague: "It's great that our first team announcement comes so early in the current cycle, with a global brand behind it and a first-time skipper in the race. These are three very positive aspects for the Volvo Ocean Race." Dutch teams have won the race around the world three times so far (1977/78, 1981/82 and 2005/06). The most famous skipper in VOR history, which began 43 years ago with the Whitbread Round the World Race, is the "Flying Dutchman" Cornelis van Rietschoten. "The Dutch love this race and that's what Conny van Rietschoten has done," said Tienpont. The upcoming race, which will cover around 45,000 nautical miles with stops in eleven ports, will start in Alicante in autumn 2017 and finish in The Hague in summer 2018.