W Ocean Racing, the First Dutch Entry in The Ocean Race

28 mei 2020 - Despite the uncertain times and Corona crisis we currently live in, the first Dutch entry for The Ocean Race is a fact! W Ocean Racing announced their participation and start of their campaign on ..................

the Dutch sailing platform Zeilhelden (Sailing Heroes). Both Managing Directors Nathalie Queré and Chris Nicholson talked with the hosts of Zeilhelden Update, Steffie Plomp and Klaas Wiersma, about the future of their project.

The boat is still branded with the Team AkzoNobel colors, but that will change when a new sponsor comes in. Nathalie Queré said to Zeilhelden: "We have a management agreement with AkzoNobel. This agreement is two-fold. 1. The management of the yacht and her usage, also for the next ocean race, independently of AkzoNobel involvement 2. A corporate sailing program for AkzoNobel customers. This program is still part of their “postrace” activation and not an indication of any future involvement in the race. A potential sponsorship for the next race is not on the agenda." Although, an uncertain and risky time for making plans, they are very busy with sponsoring, crew selection and the potential option of an IMOCA 60 in the next race. Regarding a -partly- Dutch crew, the managers of W Ocean Racing said: "When it comes to the future race crew, nothing has been decided yet. First and foremost, it will be about performance, but of course youngsters, female sailors and a mix of Dutch and international profiles will be considered as this reflects who we are and our values. We will also take into account the wishes of our partner(s), in a true partnership approach." Regarding the fact, that the start of the race is already in October next year and looking at the tight schedule for finding funding for the campaign, Queré doesn’t see a big problem and argues: "The postponement of the race is not on the agenda. The race organization is of course carefully reviewing the situation and how things evolve globally. It is true that due to the coronavirus situation, we and other potential teams have lost precious commercial time and that the timing is now quite tight to close our respective budgets in time. Challenging, but not impossible. Regardless of the future landscape, with our current VO65 programme, we are already able to provide benefits and value to our existing partners and potential sponsors whilst working of the race plans. The whole interview can be found at the YouTube and Instagram links below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5UM7XmwkI8&t=2s https://www.instagram.com/tv/CAiQ6pHgZ7x/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Fair winds and following seas,