Volvo Ocean Race Jury awards Redress to team AkzoNobel

AzkoNobel - Volvo Ocean Race - Auckland Stopover In Port Race, Auckland, March 10, © Richard Gladwell

Team AkzoNobel has been given a time credit for standing by to render assistance in Leg 4, while Vestas 11th Hour Racing was not awarded redress by the Jury.

Team AkzoNobel has been awarded redress in the form of a time credit to its finishing time for Leg 4 by the International Jury for the Volvo Ocean Race, but Vestas 11th Hour Race had its request for redress turned down.

The Jury found the finishing time of team AkzoNobel has been adversely impacted through no fault of its own after the team was diverted from racing near the conclusion of Leg 4 at the request of Race Control.

Team AkzoNobel is therefore awarded a credit of 1 hour and 20 minutes on its racing time for Leg 4. This does not change the finishing positions for Leg 4 or the overall leaderboard for the Volvo Ocean Race.

The consideration of redress is a standard follow-on whenever a boat is asked by race organisers to standby another, or the boat does that of her own volition - within reason. The amount of redress given is usually an estimate of the time a boat suspended racing until she resumed. However, changed weather conditions or other factors can also be taken into account which may increase/decrease the time or redress awarded.

In a separate hearing, the International Jury did not award redress to Vestas 11th Hour Racing, finding insufficient evidence to support granting the request.

The team issued a statement late Tuesday: "After a hearing with an independent international jury in Auckland, New Zealand, Vestas 11th Hour Racing was not awarded redress for Legs 4, 5 and 6. The team was unable to compete in these legs due to the incident involving our boat on 20th January 2018, just 30nm from the finish line of Leg 4 in Hong Kong.

"The jury’s decision is binding - no additional points will be granted for Legs 4, 5 and 6.

"The team decided to file for redress as official investigations have been closed and no further action will be taken. As professional sportspeople, pursuing all options is part of the competition in a race campaign and redress is the process for determining how the Racing Rules of Sailing apply.

"Vestas 11th Hour Racing would like to express our thanks to all involved in bringing this process to a close. "

The Racing Rules of Sailing are clear that for a boat to receive redress it "shall be based on a claim or possibility that a boat’s score or place in a race or series has been or may be, through no fault of her own, made significantly worse "

In the absence of a published Jury Decision, it would appear that the International Jury felt that there was some fault attached to Vestas 11th Hour Racing, and accordingly, they were unable to entertain a redress claim.

Had redress of average points been awarded to Vestas 11th Hour, based on her legs sailed to date, she would have had her points score increased to a level sufficent to lift her into second place overall.

Team AkzoNobel issued the following report of the Hearing and Outcome:

International jury in Auckland awards team AkzoNobel time credit for Leg 4 March 13, 2018

Team AkzoNobel has been awarded a time credit equivalent to the period the team spent standing by Vestas 11th Hour Racing after the Danish American boat was in a collision with a non-racing vessel at the end of Leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race.

In a redress hearing in Auckland on Monday March 12 a World Sailing international jury ruled that the team be credited one hour and 20 minutes from its elapsed racing time for the leg from Melbourne, Australia to Hong Kong, China.

The ruling does not affect team AkzoNobel's third place finish in the leg.

Team AkzoNobel was in fourth place on the final night of Leg 4 behind Sun Hun Kai Scallywag (HKG), Vestas 11th Hour Racing (DEN/USA) and Dongfeng Race Team (CHN) when the crew was contacted by race control at Volvo Ocean Race and asked to divert course to the scene of the incident.

Team AkzoNobel navigator Jules Salter (GBR) said the crew had responded without hesitation when the request came through from race control.

"It's a given that any team asked to assist would do the same," Salter said. "In ocean racing safety is paramount and the redress process is there to ensure that anyone rendering assistance is not penalised for doing so."

The Volvo Ocean Race standings are calculated on a points system based on the finishing positons of the 11 legs of the race: seven points for a win, plus a win bonus point, six points for second, etc.

Double points are awarded for the third, seventh and ninth legs (excluding the win bonus point) and the team with the shortest elapsed time over the entire race will be awarded one additional point.