Kiwi Brad Jackson to skipper Volvo Ocean Race entry after late controversy

Kiwi sailor Brad Jackson has been elevated to skipper of Team AkzoNobel less than a week out from the start of the Volvo Ocean Race. Photo: James Blake/Volvo Ocean Race.

There will be a New Zealand skipper in the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race after Dutchman Simeon Tienpont was axed from Team AkzoNobel over the weekend amid curious circumstances.

Kiwi sailor Brad Jackson, a veteran of six round the world campaigns, has been announced as the new skipper.

In a stunning turn of events less than week from the start of the nine-month round the world race, AkzoNobel announced yesterday they have removed Tienpont for "breach of contract".

The late controversy had the Dutch team scrambling to rebuild their campaign ahead of the start of leg one in Alicante this weekend.

Jackson, whose was aboard Grant Dalton's winning entry NZ Endeavour in the 1993/94 race, was previously listed as the team's watch captain/helmsman.

"It's a privilege to lead a team of people as talented and committed as this one - both on the water and on shore," Jackson said in a statement.

"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, which begins in just six days' time.

"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."

AkzoNobel have offered little detail as to why they took the remarkable step of terminating Tienpont.

"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 team said in a statement.

The breach in contract was related to Tienpont's management company STEAM, which had been contracted to manage all facets of AkzoNobel's entry.

"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."

Tienpont also issued a statement over the weekend, claiming he was not clear on the reasons for his termination.

"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," he said.

"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."

Tienpont is not new to controversy after being implicated in the cheating scandal that tainted Oracle Team USA's second victory in 2013, as Tienpont admitted altering one of the team's AC45s used during the America's Cup World Series.