Volvo Ocean Race: Vestas boss: "We will be back"

It had been suspected for some time, but now it is certain: Vestas Wind is attempting a comeback.

Yesterday evening, team boss Morten Albæk and skipper Chris Nicholson confirmed that their badly damaged yacht is to be repaired. According to the plan, she will be ready for the final stages. "We will rebuild our boat - just as we want to fill our hopes and dreams with new life," said Nicholson at a ceremony in Abu Dhabi.

The crew will probably sail their next race at the beginning of June, when they will sail from Lisbon to Lorient - a 650-nautical-mile sprint across the Bay of Biscay, followed by the final leg to Gothenburg. Participation in the transatlantic leg from Newport to Lisbon, which starts in mid-May, seems unlikely, although not completely impossible.

The re-entry will not have any influence on the classification. Team Vestas has no chance in the race for the podium places. That is why the decision is primarily of psychological and PR significance. It's about standing up and showing strength, not letting a mistake get you down. On Facebook the team posed in fine threads, with pithy words underneath:

"Today we stand together, united and true. This experience (the general average is meant, the ed.) could have determined us. We could have allowed it to influence our campaign, our future, our lives - but that won't happen."

The team will be holding a conference call at midday today to discuss the next steps. It is already clear that the badly damaged VO 65 will be taken to the Persico shipyard in Italy, where the carbon hull was originally laminated. Large parts of the deck, the structure and the equipment can probably be reused, according to Chris Nicholson.

"I feel a little intimidated by what lies ahead," said the Australian yesterday. "But at the same time, I welcome the chance to get back into the race."

According to team boss Albæk, the 45-year-old will remain skipper of Vestas Wind. Nicholson will decide by the end of the month whether there will be any changes to the crew. In any case, navigator Wouter Verbraak was in the group photo yesterday - he had initially taken responsibility for the accident upon himself.

Morten Albæk emphasised that the reconstruction of the racing yacht would not place an additional burden on the budget. However, he made it clear that this would require an enormous effort on the part of the Vestas sailing and logistics crew, as well as close coordination between the organisers and the insurance company. "Every second will count, every minute of every day, from tomorrow until we get to Lisbon," said Albæk.

"Vestas Wind" ran aground on a well-charted reef in the Indian Ocean at the end of November. According to previous statements, this was due to a navigational error. Both centreboards and the entire rudder system broke in the accident. Shortly afterwards, the lead bomb on the tilting keel also sheared off. Miraculously, the crew remained unharmed. As the hull was increasingly damaged in the surf, the crew abandoned the ship in life rafts that very night. It was salvaged by a freighter shortly before Christmas.