Incident at USA stopover launches investigation

An incident during the USA stopover for The Ocean Race that led to the removal of Team Holcim-PRB skipper Kevin Escoffier (above) has now triggered an investigation with ramifications beyond the race.

On June 5, French media Europe 1 reported that Escoffier was the subject of a report concerning “inappropriate behavior he allegedly had towards a woman during a party” that occurred following Leg 5 in Newport, RI.

In remarks to sports newspaper L’Equipe, Escoffier referred to “an alleged incident with a member of Team Holcim-PRB” during the Newport stopover.

“The facts that have been reported to me justify that I make a report to the Ministry of Sports and very likely launch a disciplinary procedure within the federation,” said Jean-Luc Denéchau, president of the French Sailing Federation (FFV).

Denéchau added that “if the facts were to be proven, these are behaviors which cannot be tolerated”. According to a source close to the case, it would be “a sexual assault”.

As the round the world race prepares in Denmark for the penultimate stage of the seven-leg course to start on June 8, the event authority issued a statement on June 6 that noted how they became aware of the incident as the IMOCA fleet arrived in Aarhus (overnight May 28-29) following Leg 5 from the USA.

Race statement:
Our immediate concern has been with the safeguarding of any person who may have been impacted and we have, in this case, been assured by Team Holcim-PRB that safeguarding measures within their team are in place for this. We respect the right to privacy and have offered, and continue to offer, our full support and access to any services that might be beneficial.

No formal complaint or report has been received by The Ocean Race to date. This is primarily a matter to be dealt with by the team and the regulatory authorities for the sport of sailing. On Saturday (June 3), Kevin Escoffier stepped down as skipper of Team Holcim-PRB and will not rejoin the Race.

As a World Sailing sanctioned Major International Event, there are processes in place for how The Ocean Race should handle on and off the water incidents and we have been following those procedures along with World Sailing since we learned of the incident. World Sailing has confirmed the French Sailing Federation (FFV) is the appropriate organization to investigate and apply sanctions (if any) in relation to this incident.

On Monday (June 5), we spoke with the FFV, who confirmed they are following their procedures to set up an investigation, including sending a report to the French Ministry of Sport. We support this initiative and are fully cooperating with the FFV.

The Ocean Race is committed to a safe environment for everyone on and off the water and will continue its work to promote inclusion in the sport of sailing.

The start for Leg 6 to The Hague, The Netherlands on Wednesday, June 8, 2023.

Race details – Route – Tracker – Scoreboard – Content from the boats – YouTube

Overall Leaderboard (after 5 of 7 legs)
1. 11th Hour Racing Team — 28 points
2. Team Holcim-PRB — 27 points
3. Team Malizia — 24 points
4. Biotherm — 17 points
5. GUYOT environnement – Team Europe — 2 points

IMOCA: Name, Design, Skipper, Launch date
• Guyot Environnement – Team Europe (VPLP Verdier); Benjamin Dutreux (FRA)/Robert Stanjek (GER); September 1, 2015
• 11th Hour Racing Team (Guillaume Verdier); Charlie Enright (USA); August 24, 2021
• Holcim-PRB (Guillaume Verdier); Kevin Escoffier (FRA); May 8, 2022
• Team Malizia (VPLP); Boris Herrmann (GER); July 19, 2022
• Biotherm (Guillaume Verdier); Paul Meilhat (FRA); August 31 2022

The Ocean Race 2022-23 Race Schedule:
Alicante, Spain – Leg 1 (1900 nm) start: January 15, 2023
Cabo Verde – ETA: January 22; Leg 2 (4600 nm) start: January 25
Cape Town, South Africa – ETA: February 9; Leg 3 (12750 nm) start: February 26
Itajaí, Brazil – ETA: April 1; Leg 4 (5500 nm) start: April 23
Newport, RI, USA – ETA: May 10; Leg 5 (3500 nm) start: May 21
Aarhus, Denmark – ETA: May 30; Leg 6 (800 nm) start: June 8
Kiel, Germany (Fly-By) – June 9
The Hague, The Netherlands – ETA: June 11; Leg 7 (2200 nm) start: June 15
Genova, Italy – The Grand Finale – ETA: June 25, 2023; Final In-Port Race: July 1, 2023

The Ocean Race (formerly Volvo Ocean Race and Whitbread Round the World Race) was initially to be raced in two classes of boats: the high-performance, foiling, IMOCA 60 class and the one-design VO65 class which has been used for the last two editions of the race.

However, only the IMOCAs will be racing round the world while the VO65s will race in The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint which competes in Legs 1, 6, and 7 of The Ocean Race course.

Additionally, The Ocean Race also features the In-Port Series with races at seven of the course’s stopover cities around the world which allow local fans to get up close and personal to the teams as they battle it out around a short inshore course.

Although in-port races do not count towards a team’s overall points score, they do play an important part in the overall rankings as the In-Port Race Series standings are used to break any points ties that occur during the race around the world.

Held every three or four years since 1973, the 14th edition of The Ocean Race was originally planned for 2021-22 but was postponed one year due to the pandemic, with the first leg starting on January 15, 2023.

Source: TOR