Team Vestas Wind, which we had the pleasure of accompanying around the world with our ZENDOME.300M on the nine-month Volvo Ocean Race, successfully completed the last stages after having spectacularly run aground in November 2014. The resumption of the extremely demanding regatta was a testament to a culture of making mistakes, special motivation among all those involved and great sportsmanship. The team had made a serious individual mistake, which almost cost the boat. In contrast, the following weeks were characterised by perfect teamwork.

The racing yacht had run aground on a reef in one of the loneliest places in the world due to a navigation error and was severely damaged. It was not only a miracle that none of the nine crew members was injured in the accident, but above all that the badly damaged boat was able to get back into the race at all. The aim of the complex salvage operation was to keep the deck of the yacht as intact as possible, as this part of the ship could not possibly have been renewed by the end of the race. Thanks to Maersk, one of the main sponsors, a container ship was diverted to pick up and transport the remains of the racing yacht in a very narrow time window. In a short time, the badly damaged boat arrived at the Persico shipyard in Italy, where the challenge of an extremely timely rebuild was taken up with the best sportsmanship.

 In the end, the team finally managed to re-enter the race in Portugal. This re-entry was very important not only for the athletes themselves, but also for the various sponsors. We were also happy that our ZENDOME.300M with the striking membrane printed in the team colours was finally back at the start at the spectacular finish in Gothenburg. In the end it proves: mistakes can be corrected, no matter how difficult they are. You just have to draw the right conclusions from them and act consistently.

Photo credit: Agenda Group