Clipper 343 Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 http://www.livesaildie.com/vor-breaking-dongfeng-dismasted/ 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Island Time 1,211 Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 We posted at the same time - I deleted my new topic; Volvo Ocean Race can confirm that Dongfeng Race Team broke its mast early on Monday (GMT, March 30) but fortunately nobody has been injured and there is no immediate danger to the crew. The incident happened 240 nautical miles west of Cape Horn at 0315 UTC on Monday, in the final hours of the night onboard Dongfeng. The crew reported that the mast broke above the third spreader, the top section of the mast. They are not planning to continue racing on this leg and are heading towards Ushuaia, Argentina, under their own sail. Reached via Inmarsat, a disappointed skipper Charles Caudrelier said: “I’m gutted. As you’ve seen from the position reports we have been, on purpose, backing off a bit, not attacking in any way. “The mast broke without warning, in about 30 knots of wind. We are unable to sail safely on starboard tack, but we are able to make reasonable speed on port tack. We will head towards Ushuaia and assess our options for getting to Itajaí." The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) is aware of the situation and is on standby to help if necessary. We are in constant contact with Caudrelier and are establishing the full extent of the damage to ensure we give him the support he needs to deal with the situation. We will give more information as it becomes available. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
philstar 61 Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Bugger, so the boats are not indestructible!! Interesting that they've done the mast track twice in the same area as the mast has broken. It was reported that the mast track detachment was caused by the guys over bending the mast by keeping the MHO up in too much breeze. any comments about this? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Crocket 12 Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 I'm not sure about the not pushing it quote. Looks like Dongfeng have much the same sails still attached to the top of their mast as Brunei had at the Horn. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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