Vestas 11th Hour Racing dismasted after rounding Cape Horn

By Bruce Burdett
Posted 3/30/18

More bad news for Vestas 11th Hour Racing in the Volvo Ocean Race.

A day after rounding Cape Horn and surviving one of the most difficult Southern ocean passages in memory, the boat skippered by …

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Vestas 11th Hour Racing dismasted after rounding Cape Horn

Posted

More bad news for Vestas 11th Hour Racing in the Volvo Ocean Race.

A day after rounding Cape Horn and surviving one of the most difficult Southern ocean passages in memory, the boat skippered by Bristol’s Charlie Enright has been dismasted.

The team is reported to be safe but surely disappointed after having missed the previous leg following a fatal collision with a fishing boat off Hong Kong.

They were in strong contention in this, the 7th leg, holding second place as they took the northward turn into strong Atlantic headwinds.

It has been a brutal leg all around, the worst moment being the loss of sailor John Fisher, washed overboard from the Sun Hung Kai boat in fierce winds and seas.

Yesterday, the Mapfre boat had to put into a Cape Horn port for 13 hours to fix a broken sail track and split mainsail.

This is the Frday afternoon Team Vestas bulletin from race headquarters:

Vestas 11th Hour Racing has dismasted while racing in Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race.

The team is safe and reports there is no immediate danger to the crew.

The team reported that the mast broke at 15:59 UTC and Race Control was informed of the situation at 16:15 UTC on Friday afternoon.

The crew was forced to cut away the broken mast to avoid damage to the hull.

The boat is approximately 100 miles southeast of the Falkland Islands and as of 19:00 UTC was motoring under its own power towards the islands.

At the time of the dismasting, Vestas 11th Hour Racing was sailing in a 25 to 30 knot northerly wind with 3 metre waves.

Other boats in the fleet are in the area and have been informed of the situation in order to render assistance if needed.

The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre has been advised of the situation, but the team anticipates no outside assistance will be needed to make landfall at the Falkland Islands.

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