Will Team Alvimedica receive redress in the Volvo Ocean Race?

It is the very first rule in the Racing Rules of Sailing. In Part 1, Fundamental Rules, Rule 1.1 states that “A boat or competitor shall give all possible help to any person or vessel in danger.”

It is this rule that long distance races rely on for safety.

For the Volvo Ocean Race, the 6,125nm leg through the Indian Ocean from Cape Town to Abu Dhabi has obstacles, and when Team Vestas Wind ran into the Cargados Carajos Shoals at 19 knots, their nearby competitors were needed.

It was 10 minutes before 1600 UTC on Saturday evening (Nov. 29) when Team Alvimedica navigator Will Oxley received a call from Volvo Ocean Race headquarters saying that Team Vestas Wind had run aground, some 230 nautical miles northeast of Mauritius.

At that moment, Alvimedica went from racing to support, arriving on site and taking up station on the western side of the flat downwind from Vestas, positioned to intercept the life raft if the Vestas crew had to go adrift. During the night, when Vestas lost power, and only had a handheld VHF to use, Alvimedica provided a vital communications link.

When the coast guard authorities arrived at day break on Sunday, they transported the Vestas crew to the tiny islet of Íle du Sud, which is also known as St. Brandon and part of Cargados Carajos Shoals. With the crew now secure and safe, Alvimedica was released and allowed to return to the race.

But given the time Alvimedica was detained, how does this affect their standings?

Jack Lloyd, Race Director for the Volvo Ocean Race, says that Alvimedica can seek redress under the Racing Rules of Sailing. “I have already spoken to the team about this, wherein they can present their information to the International Jury for consideration.”

Under Rule 62.1: “A request for redress or a protest committee’s decision to consider redress shall be based on a claim or possibility that a boat’s score in a race or series has been or may be, through no fault of her own, made significantly worse by … giving help (except to herself or her crew) in compliance with Rule 1.1.”

If Alvimedica was to submit a redress request, any reward from the International Jury for Alvimedica would be to adjust their finish position in the race, and not to award the team the time lost during the incident.

A look at the tracker shows that at the time of the incident, Alvimedica was in sixth position, 44 nm behind Vestas who was in fifth place, and 43nm ahead of Team SCA. Further up the leg, Dongfeng Race Team was in fourth place, 138nm ahead of Alvimedica.

Three days later, despite Alvimedica having lost a half  day on standby, the team’s position was better than at the time of the incident. If this remains the case, there may not be sufficient reason for the International Jury to issue a reward.