Vestas 11th Hour Racing to miss next two legs of Volvo Ocean Race after fatal Hong Kong collision

The Danish-American team pulled out of last weekend’s In-Port Race and Around the Island Race and will not compete in the next leg to Guangzhou, nor leg six from Hong Kong to Auckland, following a crash that caused the death of a mainland fisherman in the early hours of January 20 and left the yacht’s hull badly damaged.

“It’s very sad. We really hope they’re back to the race soon and will be in Auckland,” said Xabi Fernandez, skipper of Spanish joint-race leader Mapfre.

“This is not a very big world and we all know each other very well. We all are friends. What happened to them could happen to anyone. We all went the same crazy way through that fleet.”

Vestas co-skippers Charlie Enright and Mark Towill were not at Tuesday’s Volvo Ocean Race news conference at the Race Village at Kai Tak Runway Park, with a spokesman saying they were travelling.

The fleet leaves for Auckland on February 7, before leg seven of the 11-stop round-the-world race departs for Itajai in Brazil on March 18.

“I spoke to Charlie the other day,” said Fernandez. “After we finish in Auckland, the next day of sailing is gonna be in two months, right? So they will have some good rest, some good things and hopefully they will be able to be there.”