#VOR - Three-time Volvo Ocean Race winner Brad Jackson has been announced as skipper of Team AkzoNobel after the surprise dismissal of Simeon Tienpont at the weekend.

Jackson, who coached the Swedish all-women entry Team SCA in the 2014-15 edition, was promoted from within the crew with just days to spare before the fleet departs Alicante on the first leg this coming Sunday (22 October).

The 49-year-old New Zealander will take on the skipper role as well as his watch captain commitments shared with three-time Volvo Ocean Race veteran and 2008-09 edition winner Joca Signorini (BRA). This will be Jackson’s seventh Volvo Ocean Race.

“It’s a privilege to lead a team of people as talented and committed as this one – both on the water and on shore,” said Jackson yesterday (Monday 16 October). “The credit for the quality of team AkzoNobel should go to Simeon Tienpont.

“We have been through a difficult time since Simeon’s departure, but I’m proud of the way everyone at team AkzoNobel has responded and now it’s time for us to focus on the race.”

Jackson added: “I’m grateful for the support I have received from within the team. It’s not the ideal preparation for the race that we had hoped for, but I know we can move forward quickly and be racing hard on start day.”

Meanwhile, Simeon Tienpont has issued his own statement after Team AkzoNobel announced the termination of their relationship with his management team over “breach of contract”.

“They talk about a contract break, which is absolutely unfounded and is very damaging to my reputation, especially in view of the timing, just before the start of the race,” said the Dutch sailor, who would have been competing in his first Volvo Ocean Race as skipper.

“I can only guess that it is about a small budget overrun on a safety issue, but we have always been 100% transparent to AkzoNobel about our financial affairs and all our expenses have been made with their approval. It is them, not me, who is in clear breach of the contract.”

Scuttlebutt Sailing News has more on Tienpont’s statement HERE.

#VOR - Team AkzoNobel has released a statement after the sudden ousting of skipper Simeon Tienpont over the weekend, just days before the first leg of the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race.

The Dutch campaign cited “breach of contract” in their decision to terminate their relationship with Tienpont’s management company STEAM “with immediate effect”.

Tienpoint was the first skipper announced for the 13th edition of the global yachting challenge over a year ago, and the two-race veteran would have been sailing his first race in charge of a VOR 65.

Now the clock is ticking as the team rallies to find a new skipper before the fleet departs on the first leg next Sunday (22 October).

Team AkzoNobel’s statement in full:

First of all, we want to thank everyone for the many messages and comments the team has received over what has been a difficult few days for us. We appreciate every single one of them – the positive and the negative ones – and we very much value everyone’s passion for the campaign.

Right now team AkzoNobel is dealing with a challenge none of us ever expected to face. It has been tough, but the sailors and the shoreside support staff have every intention to be on the start line next Sunday for the start of Leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race.

The complex nature of the events that have unfolded over the last week have meant we have been unable to communicate with our supporters as openly as we would normally do so, and for that we are sorry.

The title partner and owner of the team has said:

– Simeon Tienpont’s management company STEAM breached its contract to manage the team AkzoNobel entry in the Volvo Ocean race 2017-18
– The breach was serious enough for AkzoNobel to terminate the contract with immediate effect and AkzoNobel then took over the full management of the team
– Simeon was offered the option to continue as skipper but opted not to continue and has left the team

AkzoNobel has restated to us its unwavering commitment to our entry in the Volvo Ocean Race.

The sailing team and management are working together to move forward and find the best solution for the race which starts in seven days time.

As soon as the new skipper is confirmed we will make sure our sailing fans are the first to know about it.

In the world of professional sport and particularly in major global sporting competitions like the Volvo Ocean Race, teams have to be able to deal with whatever adversities come their way.

We are all working in the best interest for the team and the Volvo Ocean Race.

Thanks once again for your support which we value even more than ever at this time.