Volvo Ocean Race: More breaking news, literally – CEO Mark Turner suffers a broken ankle in the race

ALICANTE, ESP – File this under "Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction" but Sailing Illustrated has learned that Volvo Ocean Race CEO Mark Turner was treated in a Spanish hospital today after breaking his ankle in the VOR race village. And as most of our Dear Readers will know, today was also the official start to 2017-18 edition of the world's most prestigious round-the-world ocean race with the running of the the Alicante In-Port Race – the first race that actually counts for points.

This latest, er, twist follows on the heels of Mr Turner announcing two weeks ago that he was resigning as CEO after less than 18 months on the job, but that he would stay on until Volvo hires his replacement.

The accident happened less than 24 hours after Sailing Illustrated broke the news that the skipper of Team AkzoNobel, Simeon Tienpont (NED), had been fired, according to AkzoNobel for a "breach of contract."

Happily, Mr Turner was able to be treated and released from the hospital, and we are reliably informed that, as we type this, he is back on the job in the Volvo Race Village albeit on crutches – a fitting metaphor for this seemingly hobbled event.

For the record, here are the results of today's In-Port Race in which, no surprise, AkzoNobel did not fare well....

Graphics above courtesy of the Volvo Ocean Race via their website.