Australian skipper Chris Nicholson returned to action in the Volvo Ocean Race on Sunday as his re-built Team Vestas Wind boat was restored to the fleet after six months out for repairs following a collision into a reef.
The accident in November last year during leg two of the race could have led to serious injury or worse in Nicholson's eight-man crew, after the boat rammed into the Indian Ocean reef at nearly 45 kilometres an hour, spinning 180 degrees before coming to a shuddering halt.
Miraculously, nobody was seriously hurt and the Lake Macquarie sailor, 45, led the crewmen to safety through the remote, shark-infected waters in complete darkness. A later independent panel of experts blamed a navigational error for the accident.
The episode triggered a six-month campaign to return the massively damaged A$7.3 million boat to the marathon race for the final two legs, starting with the 647-nautical mile eighth stage through the Atlantic from Lisbon to Lorient, France.
Remarkably, Nicholson's crew were competitive from the starters' gun on Sunday, despite their lack of practice against a fleet that has now circumnavigated the world in the event, and they even briefly took the lead in the first few hours of the leg.
"It feels great to be back," six-time world champion Nicholson, 45, had told a press conference in Lisbon before the leg started.
"This is my fifth Volvo Ocean Race and we talk about what a tough race it can be, but this has, for sure, been the toughest - not just for me, but for the entire team.
"Everybody has persevered and got through all the hard times to be back here with a fully functioning boat that can be competitive in this race and also compete in the next round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race. We really made the most out of such a difficult situation."
He told reporters that the boat had emerged through its final trials in Lisbon this week with flying colours and competed well in practice races in the Portuguese capital.
So what are Vestas Wind's prospects for the final two legs to Lorient (France) and Gothenburg (Sweden) against their six rival boats?
"We are some of the most competitive people that you'll find on Vestas Wind - we're there in the same class of boat as the others, we'll play by the rules and we'll play hard," said Nicholson.
Share
