Update from Vestas 11th Hour Racing

The report came from Vestas 11th Hour Racing on March 30 they had dismasted at 15:59 UTC  while racing in Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race. It was Day 13, they had just rounded Cape Horn on the course from Auckland, New Zealand to Itajaí, Brazil, but were now out of the race, approximately 100 miles southeast of the Falkland Islands.

At the time of the dismasting, due to weather conditions and the location of the breakage, the only option was to cut away the rig to keep the hull from being damaged and risking the safety of the crew onboard.

“The decision did not come lightly,” explained skipper Charlie Enright. “We never want to put anything in the ocean. We set out in this campaign to be the most sustainable team in the race, and we are not going to let this incident stop that. We are going to offset our entire carbon footprint and we are working with 11th Hour Racing to make sure that is the case.”

After cutting loose the mast, the team arrived a day later in Port Stanley of the Falkland Islands to begin working through logistical options to get the boat to Itajaí in time to step a new mast and be ready for the start of Leg 8.

But after leaving the Falkland Islands on April 1 for Itajai, they were forced to return due to a mechanical issue that needed assessment and repair.

That’s where they remain as of April 6 where they face the upcoming schedule of an In-Port Race in Itajaí on April 20 and the start of Leg 8 on April 22 to Newport, USA.

The Volvo Ocean 65 will soon leave Stanley Harbour on the 1,500-mile journey north with an increased fuel capacity, the aid of a temporary mast, and repaired sails sourced from local boat owners. They expect the delivery to take 10-12 days.

The team shares this video update published on April 6, 2018

Race details – Tracker – Scoreboard – Race route – Facebook – YouTube

2017-18 Edition: Entered Teams – Skippers
• Team AkzoNobel (NED), Simeon Tienpont (NED)
• Dongfeng Race Team (CHN), Charles Caudrelier (FRA)
• MAPFRE (ESP), Xabi Fernández (ESP)
• Vestas 11th Hour Racing (DEN/USA), Charlie Enright (USA)
• Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag (HKG), David Witt (AUS)
• Turn the Tide on Plastic (POR), Dee Caffari (GBR)
• Team Brunel (NED), Bouwe Bekking (NED)

Background: Racing the one design Volvo Ocean 65, the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race begins in Alicante, Spain on October 22 2017 with the final finish in The Hague, Netherlands on June 30 2018. In total, the 11-leg race will visit 12 cities in six continents: Alicante, Lisbon, Cape Town, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Auckland, Itajaí, Newport, Cardiff, Gothenburg, and The Hague. A maximum of eight teams will compete.