The final twist in this race took place after it had been won and lost; it’s a story that really started with the Melbourne in port race, where two boats were called back to the line for, allegedly, jumping the start. Ericsson, which battled back to be very close at the finish, hotly denied it had jumped the start. The issue became a hot topic, not just in Melbourne’s bars and on the quays, but in sailing circles - real and virtual - around the globe! Pictures of the start were posted widely and discussed even more widely; Ericsson asked for redress and said it had evidence that it was wrongly called back; it was a view that the majority of armchair judges tended to agree with.In the end, Ericsson’s evidence was never heard by the international jury, which flew out to Melbourne, only to rule that it would not hear the evidence. Full story HERE. Team Ericsson then released its evidence; a transcript of the footage filmed on the Race Committee Boat at the moment of the start, saying that the video, accompanying that audio dialogue, between the Race Officer and a Volvo Ocean Race official, clearly showed hat the person who called the line and was standing at the mast, only called Brasil 1. The statement added “It was the Race Officer, who was (wrongly) standing in front of the mast, who called ABN Amro Two and Ericsson.”
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