The one thing you should never sail without

At 15:10 UTC on 29 November 2014, half-way through Leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race from Cape Town to Abu Dhabi, the unthinkable happened.

Team Vestas Wind ran aground in shark-infested waters 200° NE of Mauritius. Water quickly filled the crew’s Volvo Ocean 65 race boat and it was all they could do to hang on as the boat pounded against the reef.

Each wave’s impact was like being hit by a car and it became clear that the crew’s lives were in serious danger. The agonising decision was made to abandon ship and with power down, skipper Chris Nicholson grabbed the IsatPhone 2 from the liferaft pack.

Inmarsat’s satellite connectivity was critical to the nine men throughout. From being marooned on a liferaft to being picked up by local coastguard, they were able to keep in touch with the rest of the world and know they were not alone and help was on the way.

Despite the terrifying ordeal, Onboard Reporter Brian Carlin’s automatic response was to pick up the camera and capture it all on film because whether they survived or not ‘it would make a pretty good news story’.

Watch the incredible footage from the boat, hear interviews from Brian and Chris, and see why the reliable power of IsatPhone 2 was a ‘life-saver’.