Hull damage in Ocean Globe Race

(April 5, 2024) – While on the fourth and final leg of the 2023-24 Ocean Globe Race, the Swan 65 Translated 9 (ITA) has retired with hull damage. Currently leading IRC overall, the team has been forced to divert to Portugal after a heavy broach in 50 knot gusts slammed them down, reopening previously repaired cracks in their hull around the rudder skeg, causing water ingress.

At about 0530 hrs UTC today, OGR race control received a text message from co-skipper Nico Malingri stating that the yacht’s previous rudder skeg repairs, which were done after the team had to drop out of the previous leg, were failing with obvious signs of delamination with the original hull. They had reduced sail and were heading downwind to monitor the situation and assess options.

The skipper then called via sat phone at approximately 1400 hrs UTC to report the complete failure of the previous repairs, resulting in water ingress and hull flexing. All pumps were ready, and while not expected, preparations to abandon ship were made and all sailing pressure taken off the boat. The conditions had 25-30 knot wind with 3–4-meter seas.

The skipper did not request any assistance at that time. The situation was not considered a “Code Orange ” (to advise MRCC) by OGR and all is currently under control for now with a close watch being maintained. Satellite communications were opened onboard and the Translated 9 shore crew were alerted. They informed the next of kin and will provide future weather routing – OGR satellite tracking was upgraded to every hour.

With their approximate position 1000 nm SW of Portugal, they have an ETA of April 11.

During Leg 3 of the Ocean Globe Race, Auckland to Punta del Este, Translated 9 were forced to return to the Falkland Islands after two cracks developed in the stern sections of the yacht following broaches in strong winds. One crack appeared near the rudder skeg. It was deemed unsafe to continue racing to Punta del Este and the crew sailed to the Falkland Islands.

The yacht was lifted in the Falklands and extensive repair work was carried out on the hull with engineers flying in to assist. After a week of round-the-clock work, the team set sail for Punta del Este arriving just 5 days before the start of Leg 4 on March 5. Such was their determination to start with the other 12 yachts in the fleet the crew were still loading provisions onboard minutes before slipping lines for the final leg.

The OGR Notice of Race prohibits any outside assistance, so the Falklands stopover automatically disqualified Translated 9 from the Leg Three rankings. This also excluded them from IRC ranking for the race overall, which up to that point, the crew had excelled.

Translated 9’s retirement from Leg 4 will now have a dramatic effect on the leaderboard. The French legend Pen Duick VI (FRA), skippered by Marie Tabarly, is currently sitting in second in IRC for Leg 4, with another former Whitbread yacht L’Esprit d’équipe breathing down their stern just minutes behind.

In other news, Triana (FRA) continues to feel the pressure from Maiden (GBR) for overall IRC first place. Triana may still have a two-day lead but Maiden is gaining ground as Triana languishes behind trapped in lighter winds. The rest of the fleet continues to battle fickle winds and race north for the Royal Yacht Squadron finish line in Cowes.

The fleet’s ETA is April 11th onwards.

Event information – Race rules – Entry list – Tracker

No longer racing:
• Swan 51 Godspeed (USA) – retired after Leg 1

The 2023-24 Ocean Globe Race (OGR) is a fully crewed, retro race, in the spirit of the 1973 Whitbread Round the World Race, marking the 50th Anniversary of the original event. Racing without computers, GPS, and high-tech materials, they navigate with sextants and paper charts. Seven of the fleet are former Whitbread competitors.

Starting in Southampton (UK) on September 10, the OGR is a 27,000-mile sprint around the Globe, divided into four legs that passes south of the three great Capes. The fleet is divided in three classes with stop-overs in Cape Town, South Africa; Auckland, New Zealand; and Punta del Este, Uruguay before returning to Southhampton in April 2024.

2023-24 Ocean Globe Race:
FIRST LEG: Start 10 September 2023. 7800 miles. First boats finish 9-21 October 2023.
SECOND LEG: Start 5 November 2023. 7250 miles. First boats finish 14-23 December 2023.
THIRD LEG: Start 14 January 2024. 6500 miles. First boats finish 9-14 February 2024.
FOURTH LEG: Start 5 March. 6550 miles. Finish 1-10 April 2024.