In a press conference, skipper Chris Nicholson, navigator Wouter Verbraak, Vestas CMO Morten Albæk and Volvo Ocean Race Manager Knut Frostad answered questions from the public together for the first time. YACHT has compiled the most important answers online. Skipper Chris Nicholson summarised the team's message: "There is a glimmer of hope for our return to the race." Although the old boat is irreparable, there is apparently a tiny chance of a new one being built.
Skipper Chris Nicholson on the circumstances of the accident:
During the last 48 hours before the accident, Wouter (editor: navigator Wouter Verbraak) and I went about our normal duties and kept checking the course. We realised that there would be shallows here. Wouter's answer was that we should expect a depth of 3000 to 40 metres. These were the extremes of the draught. The current was negligible. A depth of 40 metres is absolutely enough to cross a piece of land at any time. With this information, the crew was kept informed at regular intervals.
Navigator Wouter Verbraak on decisions he would have made differently in hindsight:
In hindsight, we should have zoomed in closer to the area - on the electronic maps. The fact that we didn't do that is the big mistake I made. We are still investigating the incident, but have not yet been able to boot up the computers. They are pretty much dead. We would very much like to do that and understand what happened so that we can learn some lessons for the future.
Wouter Verbraak when asked why he didn't zoom in on the area:
We had already passed several underwater mountains that day in the rather violent conditions of a tropical storm. The waves were high in the centre of the storm. We had passed all the underwater mountains without any problems. The weather conditions were forecast to improve. With the planned minimum draught of 40 metres, we thought we would pass safely. So we didn't zoom any closer to the area.
Chris Nicholson on the extent of the danger to his crew during and after the accident:
There was great danger for the crew when we hit the reef. The boat immediately turned 180 degrees due to the force of the impact. The rudders broke almost synchronised. Our centreboard also broke off. We got stuck in the surf. Looking out to sea, I saw jagged rocks and crashing waves. At that moment, I didn't know that there would be a safe harbour some distance away. I feared the worst at first. We then informed the regatta centre. There were a hundred things to do at the same time. We had to close the hatches of the watertight bulkheads, grab the safety bags with the essentials, put on survival suits, take care of the life rafts and the personal locator beacons. So much happened at once. I am still amazed at how the crew reacted and acted in this situation. After all, we were still busy getting the boat under control at the same time. We still had the sails up. It was an incredibly stressful phase. Ultimately, it all came down to a human error. In the end, we didn't zoom in close enough to the area. After that, however, the crew's efforts were impressive.
Wouter Verbraak on the atmosphere after the accident:
We made one serious mistake - but not a single one after that. You often see that one mistake is followed by a series of others and that incidents snowball into very, very dangerous situations. That didn't happen to us. Which is thanks to our training and our teamwork. Chris Nicholson has already emphasised that there were an incredible number of jobs to do at the same time. So if there's one positive thing I can take away, it's this realisation: everyone picked up a piece of the puzzle that helped us move forward and get to safety. There was a really incredible atmosphere on board, with outstanding team leadership and a very strong bond within the team.
VOR manager Knut Frostad on the organisers' safety measures:
I would like to start by saying a few words about where we stand today. People are our top priority. We are extremely happy that everything went well for the people. That's what we train for, and that's the main focus of all the plans in the Volvo Ocean Race in the event of an accident. Looking at our briefings and information, the first thing I have to say is that the skippers and teams are responsible for their course plans. It is the responsibility of skippers and teams to make the decision about which route they choose on their way around the world. And it is their responsibility whether they take part in a leg and start. They are also responsible for their boat and the preparation for a leg. They must sign before the start that they accept this responsibility.
As organisers, we naturally have a great interest in consistently improving the safety of the race. You can see that the safety of offshore races has improved immensely since the early days. I have been part of this race for more than 20 years. When we started, we had no information from the organisers about anything. Today, we provide the teams with much more information. We provide them with weather information that they didn't have access to before. We provide ice information that they didn't have access to before. As for the course they are sailing: That is announced well in advance of the start of the race. However, our rules also include the right and the possibility to change these courses. We can do this before the start of a leg, during the start or during a leg for safety reasons. However, a lot has to happen for such changes. There must be an extreme situation. It could be ice or piracy, which was quite relevant for the current stage. But there can also be a weather scenario that could potentially put the teams in a difficult situation. There are all kinds of restrictions for the current leg, which we announced at the beginning. Pirate warnings from our experienced consultants, who are the experts in this field, led to this. So we always do our best, but the responsibility lies with the teams.
Knut Frostad on the salvage plans for the stranded boat:
With regard to the salvage, Vestas, the Volvo Ocean Race and the insurance company are working closely together. We will do our best to do what seems right for the boat stranded on the reef. I can say that both Vestas and the Volvo Ocean Race have a very clear mission in mind: It has to be done with the least possible impact on the environment. That's why the plan is to salvage the boat in its current state or in some other form. We are currently working on the details, but we do not yet have a finalised plan that we can officially confirm. We are endeavouring to act as quickly as possible.
Vestas Head of Marketing Morten Albæk on the consequences of the accident:
Firstly, there is the short-term consequence that we will not be able to take part in the next leg. However, it is Vestas' clear goal to get Team Vestas Wind back out there sailing again as quickly as possible. We will do everything in our power to make this possible. All parties involved share the view that the boat is not repairable. One option we are looking into is building a new boat. We are looking into whether this is possible in a timeframe that makes sense for the team and Vestas. We still have the goal of finishing this race. We are working closely with the Volvo Ocean Race with this possibility in mind. But we don't have any detailed plans yet.
We are still investigating the events that led to this accident. And of course we want to learn from it! What we can already say quite clearly: If Team Vestas Wind can return to the race, it will be with Chris Nicholson as skipper. I trust him just as much today as I did before the accident.
Morten Albæk on the accident investigation in the coming weeks:
Together with the Volvo Ocean Race, we are waiting to gain access to the computers that were on board. Discussions have already taken place with the crew members. All the information is being collated. Based on this, we can take a further step and see what we can learn from this. The learning doesn't just apply within the team. We will also share the lessons learnt with the other teams and the entire sailing community.
Morten Albæk when asked whether there was a connection between Team Vestas' last-minute start and the accident:
No. Knut Frostad is also of this opinion. We have an experienced team. There are teams that have had less training than us. So the accident has nothing to do with training time or the team's preparation. It was a human error. We have already emphasised that. That was the mistake and there is no connection between the late start and this incident.
Knut Frostad when asked whether the details of the accident investigation will be published:
I can say that we are working hard on this issue in the background. It is extremely important for the Volvo Ocean Race to learn from this incident. Not only how it happened and how it can be avoided in the future, but beyond that... Thankfully, accidents like this don't happen very often. But now that it has happened, it's also about the fact that we have the new OneDesign boat, all the equipment on that boat and the safety equipment. We would like to learn as much as possible about what the crew experienced in this situation. We also have debriefings with the crew. We have discussions with the other teams. And we look to see if any changes need to be made on our part before the next start. We want to learn as quickly as possible. On the question of publishing our findings: The answer is yes! I can't give an exact date yet, but it is our declared intention that the entire sport will benefit from what we can learn from this.
Morten Albæk when asked who owns the Vestas yacht:
The boat belongs to the Volvo Ocean Race, Vestas has leased it. That is the answer to the question of ownership. If a new boat is built because the old one can't be repaired, then we'll have to see what the future ownership structure will look like. It's still too early for that.
Morten Albæk on possible financial consequences for Vestas:
There are no financial consequences. But there is of course a consequence for the campaign with which we started the Volvo Ocean Race. There will also be no overall increased budget for Vestas if we are fortunate enough to be able to send a boat into the race again. As a result of the incident, our campaign has suffered a setback that we neither planned nor hoped for when we started the campaign. But there are no financial consequences for Vestas.
But there will be consequences for the sailing and marketing team. I know that our close partners at Powerhouse are also very interested in getting back into the race. Of course, it will have to be a joint effort if we want to get the team back in the race. And - as I said before - we have a strong partnership and an intensive dialogue with the Volvo Ocean Race to get the team back on the water. So there will have to be efforts on all sides. At the end of the day, Vestas as the main sponsor will have to take the lead in exploring all options together with Powerhouse.
Morten Albæk on the question of whether the team is considering crowdfunding as a financing option:
So far we are not planning any crowdfunding, but we are extremely grateful for the worldwide support the team has received in this situation. There are thousands and thousands of sailing fans out there hoping for the team's return. We have no plans to ask them for money. However, we are very grateful for their support.
Final commentary by Knut Frostad:
I would like to say that there has been a setback for the race, but it has happened. We now want to support Vestas, Powerhouse and the team so that they have a future in the Volvo Ocean Race. I must also say that this is no small challenge. But at the end of the day, the Volvo Ocean Race is about huge tasks. And here is the next one.
Final commentary Chris Nicholson:
We cultivate an open and honest culture in our team. We will be able to report in more detail what happened in the coming weeks. From my personal point of view, I really have to thank the Volvo Ocean Race and the safety standards. And Vestas for the way this crisis has been handled, both during and after the accident. I am overwhelmed by the support for the whole team. To Alvimedica, thank you for being there and providing valuable support during the night. We had the coastguard and the Mauritius police with us, they were great. And we did it. Since then, all the members of our campaign have been very touched by how much support we have received. I don't know what I expected, but it was just overwhelming. There is a glimmer of hope that a comeback is possible. I know everyone is working hard for that chance.
Final commentary by Morten Albæk:
The way the crew and team handled the situation that happened about nine days ago shows the kind of professionalism and leadership that is fundamental to why Vestas and I still believe in this team. We are very proud of their achievement. All of us - Verstas Wind Systems and Vestas - are obviously disappointed with the current situation, but we are proud of the team's performance that night. Very proud. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to the other teams. We have received offers from all the other teams to support and help us so that we can continue to race even if we don't have a boat. We were very touched by that. On behalf of Vestas Wind and also on behalf of Vestas, I would like to express our gratitude.
It is a very complex task to get a boat back into the race. We can't promise that we will succeed. But we will do our best. For two important reasons: Firstly, we believe that we have an incredibly strong team on the water that deserves to prove it. And secondly, in view of the fan base that the team has. But let's first see what will be possible. As soon as we know, we will let the public know. The announcement will be made before the start of the next stage.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
