Mapfre loses 2pts for not following Rulebook in Southern Ocean gale

by Richard Gladwell Sail-World.com NZL on 19 Apr 2015 On Thursday the International Jury resolved several protests/requests in Itajaí, Brazil arising from Leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race.

One came from Team SCA over being required to repair a shredded headsail. That request was denied and they have to repair a sail that was deemed by the VOR shore crew to be unsuitable for racing. A similar request was also denied from Team Vestas Wind over a sailed that was badly damaged during their unscheduled stopover on Cargados Carajos Shoals during Leg 2.

Another related to Dongfeng Race Team, they were given permission to switch to a pre-race mainsail after their race sail was damaged when the topmast broke.

The Spanish team, Mapfre, were penalised with two points on the general classification for not having advised the race officials of two repairs made on Leg 5. The Spanish team, who won leg 4, placed second on the Southern Ocean leg, which finished at Itajai, Brazil.

Skipper for Leg 6, Xabi Fernández said in a statement, “the international jury has declared that we had no advantage to our performance or speed with the repairs undertaken on board. It was just an administrative error and a little bureaucracy regarding the way a boat informs of any damage suffered and how it is repaired. We have been given a penalty for making the repairs, and the team does not agree with it. We feel it is completely out of proportion”.

Under race rules the Spanish team were required to seek permission before undertaking repairs to an outrigger, and another to the bow, during the fifth and toughest leg of the race in the Southern Ocean.

At the time of the strengthening of the bow sections by gluing spare sail battens to the inside of the hull, Mapfre was being pounded in heavy seas left over from Cyclone Pam which had delayed the start of leg 5 from Auckland by three days.

The Volvo Ocean 65 class rule requires a team to immediately inform the Volvo Ocean 65 Class Authority (VCA) if a team considers a repair necessary. A report from one of the measurer’s Jack Lloyd (Race Director) led to the presentation of the protest which upheld that the Spanish team did not provide sufficient notice in the manner required about both their repairs.

The International Jury recognised in their report that the repairs undertaken by Mapfre were not made to improve the performance of their boat. In fact they did not increase the boat speed, quite the contrary, says the Team statement.

Xabi Fernández, an Olympic Gold medalist, explained in the skippers press conference, held on Thursday in Itajaí, “it has been a tough day and quite a complicated one for us. Firstly, in the last leg we fought really hard, as we always have done. We had good conditions in the Southern Ocean but naturally with strong winds, and we had to push to the limit as the rest of the teams were doing the same. But I also think that we kept our safety paramount: that of the boat and the crew above everything else. When we have problems on board or we think we might have, we need to deal with them and find an immediate solution.”

“As off-shore sailors we have the experience and the duty to treat problems as they arise, to avoid unnecessary risks. I believe that this is an added value that we have as a team, one shared by all offshore sailors. You learn from experience and many problems and points lost in the past, and you are more prepared,” explained Fernandez.

“I think we did the right thing: we found a solution to two problems which we had on board, and reduced the risks. We would do the same again a thousand times. I want to emphasise that this comes from being well-prepared and having experience, just like we were prepared in case we had to make an emergency stop in Ushuaia (Argentina). The last three or four times we have been there we have always had problems, and for this reason we had part of the shore crew on stand-by in Ushuaia with all the necessary material in case we had to make repairs.”

Fernández and the Mapfre team said in the statement that they believed the penalty was, “totally excessive because of the possible administrative error we committed”, and adds that “we will try to turn it around with our team and attempt to get back the two points that have been taken from us”.

“As we all know, the leg finishes are proving really close, four boats in under an hour in the last leg. We have fought really hard for each point, so to have two taken from us in this way, is too much and completely disproportionate in our view”, added the 2004 Olympic Gold medalist in the 49er class.

“We have made a note of these bureaucratic procedures for the future, but do not agree with the solution which has been given in this case. We will keep fighting hard, but of course losing two points in the overall classification is a really big deal” Fernández concluded.

The race organisers pointed out, during the Media Conference that competitors had the right to repair their boats at sea.

'When we think we have problems on board the boat, I think we have the right to address or fix them, said Fernandez. 'maybe we didn't follow the process that the class rule says. But we did what we had to do. We would do the same one hundred times over if we were in the same situation.

'We know we have to follow the bureaucracy in the future, but we don't agree with the solution they have done to this problem.'

Fernandez explained that the racing is now so close that while the teams did not think that In Port racing would be of much significance, with teams being tied on points and having the In Port racing used as a tie breaker, every point is vital.

'Personally I think this is a big mistake from the Jury. It is a huge penalty. We are fighting very hard for just one point and to lose two points like this huge and it is completely out of proportion.'

'Others break this rule too. When we have problems we are obliged to fix them.'

'We are not happy.'