Volvo Ocean Race: Three Teams Protested by Race Committee

Alicante, Spain (May 26, 2015) – The ISAF-appointed independent international jury will be hearing four cases during the Lisbon stopover after alleged breaches of sailing rules during Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race, it was announced today.

The incidents occurred soon after the start on May 17 when the fleet approached the eastern corridor of the Rhode Island Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS), an exclusion zone that the fleet was required to avoid.

Team SCA are to answer two cases: that they sailed against the traffic flow in a Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS), and, additionally, into a Rhode Island Sound exclusion zone.

Dongfeng Race Team and MAPFRE are also facing protests that they sailed against the traffic flow in a TSS.

The Race Committee has brought all the cases to the jury, If a penalty is to be given, the jury has discretion on what it will be.

No date has yet been set for the hearings although race organisers say they want to have them settled as soon as possible following the fleet’s expected arrival in Lisbon on Wednesday, May 27.

Full details of the cases are available on the Race Noticeboard.

Source: Race media

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Background: The 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race began in Alicante, Spain on Oct. 11 with the final finish on June 27 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Racing the new one design Volvo Ocean 65, seven teams will be scoring points in 9 offshore legs to determine the overall Volvo Ocean Race winner. Additionally, the teams will compete in 10 In-Port races at each stopover for a separate competition, the Volvo Ocean Race In-Port Series. The seventh leg, from Newport, USA to Lisbon, Portugal (2,800 nm), began May 17 with an ETA of May 27.