Volvo Ocean Race - Sailing needs more sponsors like Vestas Wind

by Rob Kothe and Richard Gladwell Sail-World.com on 7 Jun 2015 The Volvo Ocean Race is about to start Leg 8, with the fleet expanding to seven boats with the re-entry of Team Vestas Wind.

Certainly the Team Vestas Wind comeback is one of the remarkable stories of sailing.

Sailing needs committed sponsors and they don’t come more committed than Vestas. When Team Vestas Wind ran aground on November 29th 2014 most observers felt that was the end of the journey for Vestas in yachting sponsorships, but they did not count on the determination of the sponsors and the team.

The precision of planning the re-build to within a day - six months out, with a wrecked boat stuck on a remote atoll in the Southern Indian Ocean, is quite remarkable.

For sure it has not been a walk in the park for Vestas Wind, Chris Nicholson, Nick Cox, Persico - but they can come away from the exercise with heads high and a difficult, nigh impossible job well done.

Oddly enough although Vestas Wind has not been represented on the water since midway through Leg 2, they have secured themselves a very unique place in sailing history as a team that has achieved the impossible. In the general media and public mind-space Vestas Wind has also secured a very unique and favourable profile as a company that can deliver on time against overwhelming odds.

While Vestas Wind's objective might have been to spread the message about alternative energy generation, they have, through the events of November 29, gained a reputation that no marketing plan could have achieved. Their take-out from the race is probably greater than any of the other teams.

This week we interviewed the Head of Team Vestas Wind, the Vice President of Global Marketing for Vestas Wind Mirella Vitale for her take on the journey for one of sailing´s most committed sponsors.