Volvo Ocean Race- 'I saw jagged rocks and breaking waves' - Nicholson

by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World.com/nz on 8 Dec 2014 The Team Vestas Wind crew and Volvo Ocean Race management have just completed a media conference call in Abu Dhabi.

Skipper Chris Nicholson opened by outlining what happened in the 48-hour period prior to the grounding off Team Vestas Wind's on the Cargados Carajos Shoals, some 200 miles north-east of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean

'We were aware that there would be some sea-mounts. When I saw those, I asked what the depth and current and wave conditions would be.

My experience with those off the east coast of Australia is that conditions can get quite bumpy with a difficult wave state.. Wouter’s reply was that the depth went from 3000 metres to 40 metres – that were the extremes of the depths.

'The current was negligible, and we would monitor the wave state, as we approached,' Nicholson said.

'A 40 metre depth is perfectly safe depth at which to cross seamounts or any piece of terrain', Nicholson added.

'That information as relayed to the crew, so they were informed as to the conditions.'

'In hindsight we would have zoomed in much more on the actual area,' said navigator Wouter Verbraak. 'We have not yet managed to get the computers up and running, they are pretty much dead. But we would like to do this, so we know what has happened.

'We had passed during the days, over several seamounts,' Verbraak explained. 'The wave were quite big due to the tropical storms. But we didn’t have any problems with the seamounts. Wave conditions were forecasted to diminish. As such 40 metres was a safe depth to pass over the seamounts.

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In response to a question as to whether the crew was in any danger, Nicholson said they were certainly in danger from the time the 65ft yacht hit the atoll.

'We went instantly into an 180-degree turn. In the force of the impact, our rudders broke off. In the instantaneous turn, our dagger board snapped off. We were completely stuck with breaking waves.

'My initial look over the side of the boat was jagged rocks and breaking waves. At that stage, I didn’t even know there was a safe haven as such in the lagoon, some distance away.

'My initial thoughts were obviously for the worst. We had to inform Race Headquarters. There were 100 jobs going on at the one time', he explained, such as securing bulkhead watertight doors, getting survival suits, the liferafts and the AIS personal beacons.'

'There was so much going on but the one thing that shone out was the entire crew handled the situation with composure.'

'My one thought was that we had to get the boat under control - we had sails still hoisted. It was an amazingly stressful time, but we need to back up and remember that this was bought about by a simple human error.'

'At the end of the day we didn’t look at the chart and we didn’t zoom in enough.'

'But after that it all went well.'



A textbook recovery:
'We made a serious mistake, but the good thing is that we didn't make anymore', said Wolter Verbraak. (It should be noted that in one Pilot for the area it is claimed that the Shoals are 3nm out of position and if correct, electronic and paper charts would both have been affected.)

'Often when you make one mistake, several others are made, and the situation snowballs, and that creates a dangerous situation. But we didn't and that is a testimony to our teamwork and our training and I still vividly remember the moment - even though it was the worst moment in my sailing career, it was also one of the best - because we worked as a team, and that was incredible. As Chris Nicholson highlighted, there was so many jobs to be done - and that is one of the big things that I cherish from this. Everyone picked a piece of the puzzle that moved us forward and into safety. It was an amazing atmosphere on the boat. There was an incredible teamwork and bond within the team.'

Almost a second incident:
As an aside, the following extract from blog of the On Board Reporter, Yann Riou, from Donfeng Race Team, just ahead of Vestas Wind at the time of the incident makes interesting reading:

'Beautiful islands in the middle of nowhere, but right in the middle of our route!” (Charles)

That was the reflection of Charles Caudrelier (skipper) just after passing the Cargados archipelago. Shortly after we gybed, a bit later than our closest rivals, right at the time of the big wind shift, but without anticipating that this shift would be so strong that it would take us onto a direct route to the island.

A little moment of hesitation during which we asked which side we should pass.

“A small navigation error which cost us two to three miles.” It could have been worse.

Charles had noticed this archipelago a few days ago. But it’s worth noting that it’s actually pretty hard to find. In fact, to see it on our electronic charts, you have to zoom right in on top of it. But how and why would you zoom into it if you don’t know it’s there in the first place?

So whilst we don’t know exactly what happened on Vestas, we can imagine how it happened.

Volvo Ocean Race CEO, Knut Frostad reiterated the organizer's relief that all the crew were safe and not injured.

Currently, Vestas Wind and Volvo Ocean Race, along with the insurers of the boat are working together to determine what will happen to the 65ft round the world racer, which is still on the atoll. 'We are all making our absolute best efforts to do what is right with the boat on the reef. Both Volvo Ocean Race and Vestas have a very clear mission to ensure that there is a minimum of environmental impact on the reef.'

The boat will be removed, either 'in its current form or in a different form. We are working on the detail, and all parties are supporting the plan, and trying to make things happen as quickly as possible.'

Sponsors keen to go again:
Morten Albaek, CEO of Team Vestas Wind and Chief Marketing Officer of Vestas Wind reiterated the sponsors keenness to continue in the Race, and confirmed that Chris Nicholson would remain as skipper. 'I trust him now as much as I did before,' Albaek declared.

'It is Vestas' clear ambition to get Vestas Wind out sailing again. We will do everything within our means to make that happen.'

'If the assessment from all the parties is that the boat cannot be repaired. One of the options we are looking into is building a new boat, and whether that can be done and in a time that is meaningful for the team and for Vestas to re-enter the race. That is all still to be concluded, and we are all working closely with Volvo Ocean Race to explore that opportunity, but we don't have any detailed plans or conclusions, yet.'

He confirmed that crew debriefing interviews were already underway to determine what had happened in the lead-up to the incident and that attempts to revive the computers were being made to retrieve the information and build a complete picture, before continuing in the race. The information would be shared within the team and with other teams in the race and the wider sailing community.

Organizers were keen to point out that the issue was a human error. 'Wouter has identified what that was', said Albaek. 'There is no co-relation between the fact that we started our preparation late and this incident.'

Knut Frostad said that the inquiry was extremely important to the Volvo Ocean Race. 'We want to know why the incident happened and how it can be avoided. But also thankfully we don't have incidents like this happening often. We also want to learn how all the safety features worked on the boat, and what the crew experienced in this situation.'

'We are also debriefing with Vestas crew members here and will do so with other team members. We are looking at some changes, if necessary, before the next leg.'

'Our learnings will be published and shared. I cannot give an undertaking as to the timing,' he added.

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Boat ownership clarified:
Frostad confirmed that the yacht was owned by Volvo Ocean Race and leased to the Vestas team. If the boat cannot be repaired, and a new boat is commissioned, then 'we will have to talk about the ownership structure.'

Albaek confirmed that there were no financial consequences for Vestas, as the sponsor of the Team Vestas Wind. The boat was insured, and there will be 'no overall decrease in the budget for Vestas Wind's participation in the Volvo Ocean Race if we are lucky enough to get sailing again.'

'There are no financial consequences for Vestas' Albaek reiterated. 'Our close partners, Powerhouse, are also very keen on exploring all opportunities for Vestas to re-enter the race. Of course, it has to be a joint effort to bring the team back. It will take a real contribution from all parties, bring the team back on the water. But Vestas as the lead sponsor is going to take the leadership to drive these opportunities, along with Powerhouse.'

'It is very important for the sailing world to understand that the culture we have within this team is very open and honest,' said Chris Nicholson. 'In the weeks ahead we can go into much finer detail about what happened. But from a personal point of view I really need to thank the Volvo Ocean Race and their safety standards. And Vestas in regard to how we handled the crisis both during and since. They have been amazing with their level of support for the entire team.'

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'Alvimedica stood by us and gave invaluable assistance during the night.' Nicholson also acknowledged the Mauritius Coastguard and the Mauritius Police, The level of assistance we received that night was quite amazing, and we did need it.

'Since then everyone in the program has been quite touched by the level of support that we have had.

'I don't know what I expected, but it has simply been amazing. There is a glimmer of hope that we can be back, and I know that everyone here is working just as hard as they can to make that happen.'

Vestas Wind Team boss Morten Albaek reiterated Nicholson's sentiments and thanked the other teams for their help and support 'even though we currently don't have a boat in the race.'

He expected that a decision as to the teams future involvement would be made before the start of the next leg. All parties pointed out that getting the team back in the race was not a foregone conclusion and would be extremely challenging.

But to counter that view, the Volvo Ocean 65 fleet were fortuitously built to be used for two races, and one objective for Team Vestas Wind may be to restart either in Auckland or South America and use the rest of the Race to build for the 2017-18 event.

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