10 November 2017
Mark Turner steps
down from Volvo Race
ust weeks away from the start
of the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean
Race, CEO Mark Turner has
stepped down. The board to which he
reports announced that the organisation
was ‘reconsidering the schedule for
future races.’
At issue is the plan to build a new foil-
assisted yacht for 2019 and to change
the race to a two-yearly cycle.
Turner, the man behind Ellen
MacArthur’s sailing career, the Offshore
Challenges/OC Sport business and
the Extreme Sailing Series, is widely
seen as a visionary in the sport. He was
In a surprIse announcement, the recently appoInted ceo Is
quIttIng followIng a decIsIon to posptone long-term strategy
appointed last year to take the helm
of the Volvo Ocean Race when Knut
Frostad stepped down.
Since he took over, Turner has
substantially reshaped the race by re-
introducing a hugely long 12,000-mile
Southern Ocean leg from Cape Town
to Auckland, producing a new rule to
incentivise recruitment of female crew,
and improving sustainability.
Turner’s strategic plan, which
extends well beyond this edition, was
unveiled in May. A raft of changes was
announced for a new-look VOR, ideas
the organisation trumpeted wouldtake the race into ‘the next decade’. At
a carefully planned and coordinated
press conference in Gothenburg, Turner
revealed that the race was to run on a
two-year cycle from 2019 and could take
a range of potential formats starting in
Europe, Asia, the Middle East or in the
Americas, and possibly even include a
race non-stop around Antarctica.
At the heart of these plans was a
scheme to replace the current VO65s
with a foil-assisted 60-footer designed
by Guillaume Verdier. The current VO65s
that are about to start their second race
have proved reliable but, in an era of
foiling monohulls, are starting to look a
bit dated.
This new 60ft foil design would be
faster and visually more exciting. The
design concept was such that they
could potentially also be eligible for
the Vendée Globe, and therefore be an
attractive proposition for new sponsors
and nations.
Finally, Turner’s formula included
a fully foiling multihull of 32-50ft forJ
Unexpected
departure: Mark
Turner has
introduced a raft
of changes to the
Volvo Ocean Race