Vestas to miss Volvo Ocean Race
in-port races, Leg 5, following last week’s fatal collision

VESTAS 11TH HOUR RACING will not be participating in in-port races in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China, nor will it participate in Leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race between the two cities. / COURTESY VOLVO OCEAN RACE/MARTIN KERUZORE
VESTAS 11TH HOUR RACING will not be participating in in-port races in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China, nor will it participate in Leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race between the two cities. / COURTESY VOLVO OCEAN RACE/MARTIN KERUZORE

PROVIDENCE – Vestas 11th Hour Racing informed the Volvo Ocean Race that the racing team will not participate in inshore racing in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China, nor will it be participating in Leg 5 of the race, which goes between Hong Kong, Guangzhou and back to Hong Kong.

The Vestas team is still repairing its boat after a fatal collision with a non-racing boat when entering port in Hong Kong on Jan. 20.

This year, Rhode Island’s Charlie Enright and Nick Dana are on the Vestas 11th Hour Racing team. Enright is skipper for the Vestas crew following his debut campaign as skipper of Team Alvimedia in 2014-15.

“At this time, we are still assessing all of our options to return to the race,” said Enright in a statement. “We once again thank everyone for their continued support.”

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Leg 5 begins Feb. 1.

After retiring from Leg 4 of the race, Vestas is now in fourth on the scoreboard standings with 12 points. The MAPFRE team is in first with 19 points. The more time the Vestas team misses from the race, the more difficult regaining its race position will be.

The Volvo Ocean Race also announced it will livestream the eight remaining in-port races beginning on Saturday in a partnership with Twitter Inc.

The organization also said its Twitter handle, @volvooceanrace, will broadcast video content from the seven participating boats.

Jordi Neves, chief digital officer at Volvo Ocean Race, said: “Twitter is a natural home for the Volvo Ocean Race’s live action and ever-changing story, and we’re excited to partner and work closely with the platform to give our fans a more connected experience than ever before in 2017-18.”

Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor.

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