Ever since Team Vestas Wind ran aground in the Cargados Carajos Shoals in the Indian Ocean, we have worked tirelessly on finding a way for us to get back in the race. The process has been very complicated, involving many different stakeholders and tough negotiations. We’re proud to announce that Team Vestas Wind will be rejoining the race by repairing the boat.
Our first choice has always been to repair the boat or rebuild using as many elements of the Vestas Wind boat as possible. Having successfully completed a rescue and clean-up operation on the reef on 21st December 2014 with the help of local crews and a nearby Maersk container vessel, we were able to retrieve our damaged VO65 from the reef. Needless to say, the accident in the Indian Ocean on 29th November was extremely disappointing both from a business point of view as well as a sporting point of view. But Vestas is not a company that folds under pressure. Neither does the Team Vestas Wind crew. We make comebacks. Read more
We entered this race because the Volvo Ocean Race represents a beautiful match for Vestas, being the world leader in wind energy. We have already seen what fantastic opportunities and results the Volvo Ocean Race represents for our company in regards to customer engagement and brand positioning. Our customer satisfaction survey scores and Net Promoter Scores (the loyalty between us and our customers) have been absolutely top level and higher than anything we have seen previously in Vestas.
Even though we will not have a boat in Sanya, Auckland, Itajai, and Newport, we will still be capable of giving hundreds of decision makers from our customers and key stakeholders unique corporate hospitality experiences and negotiate MW deals and service renewals during the stopovers.
Therefore, we are very happy that we now have the opportunity to leverage the huge potential that our participation in the Volvo Ocean Race represents and we will work very hard to get the boat and the crew ready for the stopover in Lisbon at the end of May.
Our shore and sailing crews will carefully follow the progress of the Vestas Wind boat as it returns to Europe for repairs. They will remain as integral members of Team Vestas Wind and will assist in the reparation where possible, and in any complementary activity which supports the team’s return to the race.
The team will not get any points for this or any subsequent legs of the race in which we do not participate. However, this does not preclude our participating in the overall ranking and we intend to conclude our participation in the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015 in Gothenburg, Sweden in June.
We have received an overwhelming level of support from all teams and we have accepted their generous offers to help us to continue to be present at stopovers by providing hospitality to guests and activating our “A race we must win” campaign throughout the remainder of the Race and leading up to the COP Paris climate change conference in December 2015.
This is a perfect example of how we live our values in Vestas; Accountability, Collaboration and Simplicity. This is the story about Vestas showcasing its capabilities to collaborate with the other teams, demonstrating persistency and will power to stay in the race and not abandon. We are off to a great start in our comeback story – a story which in itself represents a huge potential for Vestas. We will continue to promote our A race we must win campaign to combat energy poverty, climate change and water scarcity leading up to the COP Paris 2015 climate change conference. We now have the opportunity to perform one of the biggest comebacks in sailing and prove to the world what Team Vestas Wind – and Vestas – is capable of accomplishing!
This has now become a race for us to rejoin the race!