After today's interview with Mark Towell, in which the responsible skipper speaks for the first time in detail about the tragic collision between his blue racing yacht and a boat that was not involved in the race on January 20th, the organizers of the Volvo Ocean Race have announced a report that deals with the To deal with deep sea sailing at night in areas with high traffic density and to show possible ways to minimize risk.
Security expert Chris Oxenbould will chair the investigation group
Stan Honey
The report is to be prepared by an independent team of experts (IRT), which Rear Admiral Chris Oxenbould will chair. Oxenbould is a former head of the Australian Navy, a seasoned sea sailor and ex-chairman of the safety committee. The investigative committee also includes the renowned navigator Stan Honey, who won the Volvo Ocean Race in 2005/06 with ABN Amro One. In addition, Chuck Hawley, the former chairman of the U. S. Sailing Safety at Sea.
The IRT will deal with all areas of sailing with a Volvo Ocean 65 or similar yachts at night in heavy traffic and will include the experience of the last editions of the Volvo Ocean Race in the investigation. The Volvo Ocean Race organizers have announced that they will subsequently publish any research results that may be of interest to the global sailing community. The IRT wants to present its results to the Volvo Ocean in June. This means that the results could be published just in time for the final of the race in The Hague at the end of June.
Regatta Director Phil Lawrence said, "Of course there has been a lot of reaction to this incident in the sailing community. But the fact is, it takes time to conduct a responsible investigation into what can be done to reduce risk and increase safety."
For the last edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, Chris Oxenbould was in charge of the report that dealt with the Vestas wind reef collision. Now it is the tragic collision of Vestas 11th Hour Racing that preoccupies the Australian