The Race, Team Legato sailing again after 5.5 hour stopover

by Mireille Vatine on 7 Apr 2001 It only needed 5.5 hours for Team Legato to carry out the repairs made necessary by the breaking of the mast foot ball joint seal. Just five and a half little hours whilst the approach to the Canaries necessitated 1000 miles of beating into the wind!

Escorted by a flotilla of RIBs from the Yacht Club Real de Las Palmas, Team Legato was awaited by a team and a mobile crane for lifting the mast so that they could change the part. Once the shrouds slackened, a manoeuvre directed by Ron Hansford, the engineer from Carbospars, it soon became apparent that the damage to the rig was in fact very light, despite the pressure exerted by beating 1000 miles to windward. The actual changing of the part needed only 2 hours work. Taking advantage of the stop, the electronic equipment was checked and an alternator that had not worked since Wellington was repaired.

A good shower and steaks all round devoured with pleasure by all the crew and the boat left her dock in Las Palmas at 0400 this morning.

'It's thanks to everybody's remarkable work that we were able to get away again so quickly. Carbospars were very efficient and it was super that the Spanish engineers and the crane operator accepted working overnight...' complimented Tony. 'We must now kick in the turbo and try and catch the Poles on Warta Polpharma in the 1500 miles left to go to Marseilles. We can push the boat in complete confidence.'

Warta-Polpharma is no more 1150 miles from Marseilles and is progressing along a direct route towards the mouth of the Straits of Gibraltar. With 230 miles covered on average in 24 hours, her finish in Marseilles is still expected to be Wednesday.