Volvo Ocean Race: Tragedy mars finale

The Hague, NED (June 29, 2018) – The exuberance on display for the final finish line of the Volvo Ocean Race on June 24 is now in mourning as the community comes to grip with a terrible accident that took place last night in the Scheveningen harbor.

Scheveningen, a modern seaside resort with popular beach areas and harbour for fishing and tourism, was reveling in the build-up toward the final In-Port Race on June 30 when a collision between two motorboats resulted in one fatality and three people taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

The incident, which did not involve Volvo Ocean Race boats nor did it include Volvo Ocean Race or team personnel, concerned a steel motorboat with three people on board and a RIB with eight people on board. Emergency services responded to the scene around 6:30 pm (local time).

According to police, the driver of one of the vessels has been taken into custody, as is procedure. The person driving the other boat was among the injured and will be interviewed by police when appropriate. The investigation into the accident is ongoing and police say there are numerous witnesses to the incident.

“The Volvo Ocean Race stopover has been a wonderful event, which The Hague and Scheveningen have enjoyed very much,” said Pauline Krikke, Mayor of The Hague. “But this accident has thrown a dark shadow over it.”

DutchNews.nl reports how RIBs were being used to ferry people from event to event and to give visitors a tour of the harbour area and event village.

The local organisers of the Volvo Ocean Race Finish The Hague, in consultation with municipal authorities, have decided to continue activities in the Race Village today in appropriate form. One minute of silence will be held in respect of the victims at 8pm, before tonight’s concerts.

Schedule: While the offshore legs have concluded, the seven teams will meet one last time for the final In-Port Race on June 30 in The Hague, NED. While the In-Port Race Series is a separate event, it will be used to break the tie on the overall race leaderboard between Turn the Tide on Plastic and Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag.

Race details – Tracker – Scoreboard – Race route – Facebook – YouTube

Leg 11 – Final Results
1. Dongfeng Race Team (CHN), Charles Caudrelier (FRA), 3 days, 3 hours, 22 minutes, 32 seconds
2. Team AkzoNobel (NED), Simeon Tienpont (NED), 3 days, 3 hours, 38 minutes, 31 seconds
3. MAPFRE (ESP), Xabi Fernández (ESP), 3 days, 3 hours, 39 minutes, 25 seconds
4. Team Brunel (NED), Bouwe Bekking (NED), 3 days, 3 hours, 45 minutes, 52 seconds
5. Turn the Tide on Plastic (POR), Dee Caffari (GBR), 3 days, 3 hours, 56 minutes, 56 seconds
6. Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag (HKG), David Witt (AUS), 3 days, 4 hours, 01 minutes, 32 seconds
7. Vestas 11th Hour Racing (DEN/USA), Charlie Enright (USA), 3 days, 4 hours, 05 minutes, 36 seconds

Overall Results (after 11 of 11 legs)
1. Dongfeng Race Team (CHN), Charles Caudrelier (FRA), 73 points
2. MAPFRE (ESP), Xabi Fernández (ESP), 70
3. Team Brunel (NED), Bouwe Bekking (NED), 69
4. Team AkzoNobel (NED), Simeon Tienpont (NED), 59
5. Vestas 11th Hour Racing (DEN/USA), Charlie Enright (USA), 39
6. Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag (HKG), David Witt (AUS), 32
7. Turn the Tide on Plastic (POR), Dee Caffari (GBR), 32

NOTE: The In-Port Race Series is a separate event, but should there be a tie on the overall race leaderboard at the end of the offshore legs, the In-Port Race Series standings will be used to break the tie.

Overall In-Port Race Results (after 10 of 11 races)
1. MAPFRE (ESP), Xabi Fernández (ESP), 61 points
2. Dongfeng Race Team (CHN), Charles Caudrelier (FRA), 50
3. Team AkzoNobel (NED), Simeon Tienpont (NED), 45
4. Team Brunel (NED), Bouwe Bekking (NED), 43
5. Vestas 11th Hour Racing (DEN/USA), Charlie Enright (USA), 33
6. Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag (HKG), David Witt (AUS), 24
7. Turn the Tide on Plastic (POR), Dee Caffari (GBR), 21

The race course for Leg 11 was revised prior to the start, adjusting the length to 963.4nm to ensure fan-friendly arrival times along the route and finish.

After the start on June 21, the boats were sent west out of the islets dotting the entrance to Gothenburg before turning north to head to a turning mark just off the coast of Norway. Then, it’s a dive south to round a mark near the Danish city of Aarhus, followed by a return north around the top of Denmark before racing south to The Hague to the finish on June 24.

For crew list… click here.

2017-18 Edition: Entered Teams – Skippers
• Team AkzoNobel (NED), Simeon Tienpont (NED)
• Dongfeng Race Team (CHN), Charles Caudrelier (FRA)
• MAPFRE (ESP), Xabi Fernández (ESP)
• Vestas 11th Hour Racing (DEN/USA), Charlie Enright (USA)
• Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag (HKG), David Witt (AUS)
• Turn the Tide on Plastic (POR), Dee Caffari (GBR)
• Team Brunel (NED), Bouwe Bekking (NED)

Background: Racing the one design Volvo Ocean 65, the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race begins in Alicante, Spain on October 22 2017 with the final finish in The Hague, Netherlands on June 30 2018. In total, the 11-leg race will visit 12 cities in six continents: Alicante, Lisbon, Cape Town, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Auckland, Itajaí, Newport, Cardiff, Gothenburg, and The Hague. A maximum of eight teams will compete.