Please select your home edition
Edition
Vaikobi 2024 December

Delta Lloyd breaks keel, out of Leg 3 in Volvo OR

by Diana Bogaards on 19 Dec 2008
The Dutch/Irish entry in the Volvo Ocean Race, Team Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) has suffered damage to the port side carbon structure around the keel ram. The boat was half way across the Bay of Bengal when the damage occurred, at 1930 local time, midday GMT. Skipper Roberto Bermudez de Castro and his crew are safe and boat is not taking on water. Rick Tomlinson/Volvo Ocean Race http://www.volvooceanrace.com

A broken keel structure has finished Team Delta Loyd in the third leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. The Dutch/Irish VO70 was halfway the Bay of Bengal on its way to Singapore, as the port side carbon structure around the ram broke. That happened on Thursday December 18 2008 at 19:30 hours local time. Skipper Roberto Bérmudeze de Castro (ESP) and his crew are safe. The boat doesn’t take water and continues sailing, without withdrawing from the third leg.

Team Delta Lloyd is the former ABN Amro One, winner of the last Volvo Ocean Race, which completed the event without serious incident. She was then acquired by Ericsson as a training boat, before in turn, being acquired by her present owners.

'We are currently putting up the J4, and we will sail eastward (upwind) with the keel centered using only the starboard ram', reported navigator Matt Gregory (USA). 'We should be able to sail at 7 knots. According to the boat designer it is safe to continue under sail and we are about 400 miles west of the northern corner of Sumatra. We have a fuel range of 450 miles and only enough food for 11 days at sea.' Meanwhile, Edwin O’Connor (IRL) is leading the process of fixing the keel.


Media Crew Member Sander Pluijm (NED) explains what happened two hours earlier: 'We heard a big bang. Johnny and I thought the mast had come down. Everybody was shocked and we started searching below deck. It did not take long before we found the problem; the port side carbon structure that holds the ram was broken. At the moment, the guys are consulting external expertise to secure the keel.' It is too early to know the exact cause of the damage, but it is likely to be a failure of the hydraulic system. Pluym says explicitly that the race has not been abandoned yet: 'The seal is still on the engine. We are looking into the possibilities of going the nearest harbor or to continue towards Singapore, which we prefer.'


Safety first
Skipper Roberto Bérmudez de Castro (ESP) reacted disappointed: 'This is incredibly bad luck, but the safety of the crew is my first priority. It is my job to bring them home safely.' The shore team is ready to start fixing the damage, which should enable Team Delta Lloyd to line up for the In-Port Race on January 10 in Singapore.

In addition to title sponsor Delta Lloyd, the Dutch/Irish syndicate is also supported by Chieftain Group, Tommy Hilfiger, OHRA Verzekeringen, Port of Rotterdam, Discovery Channel, Weather News and Hemels van der Hart.

Website: http://www.teamdeltalloyd.com
Event website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/

About Delta Lloyd
Delta Lloyd Group gives its clients certainty, by securing risks, income and asset formation. Delta Lloyd Group operates under the brand names Delta Lloyd, OHRA and ABN AMRO Insurances in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. It is the biggest yachting insurance company in the Netherlands and a strongly involved in water sports. Delta Lloyd is the official partner of the Royal Netherlands Yachting Federation and title sponsor of the national Olympic squad. Other sponsor projects are the Hiswa te Water (outdoor boat show), Delta Lloyd Regatta (Grade 1 Olympic sailing regatta), Delta Lloyd Open Dutch Championships for Olympic and Paralympic classes and Delta Lloyd training center.

Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca 2025Maritimo 2023 S-Series FOOTERArmstrong 728x90 - Performance Mast Range - BOTTOM

Related Articles

Rooster Sailing's 2025 Collection Just Dropped
From the redesigned Technical Shorts to the all-new SB2 Deck Trainers From the redesigned Technical Shorts to the all-new SB2 Deck Trainers, the 2025 collection has been developed with real sailors, for real conditions.
Posted today at 4:00 pm
2025 Santa Maria Cup in Annapolis, USA Day 2
Final four skippers emerge from a competitive qualifying double-round robin stage A thrilling second day of racing at the 2025 Santa Maria Cup saw the final four skippers emerge from a competitive qualifying double-round robin stage.
Posted today at 4:47 am
SailGP to Kick Off Summer in New York
With this Weekend's Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix An unforgettable weekend of high-speed, close-to-shore racing and world-class entertainment will take place this weekend when the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix takes place in front of the most famous skyline in the world.
Posted on 5 Jun
Scandinavian Gold Cup at Sopot, Poland Day 1
A slow start with very little wind The Scandinavian Gold Cup opened Thursday in Sopot, Poland, with seven 5.5 Metres competing for this historic and iconic trophy that dates back to 1922. Unfortunately, there was not enough wind to even complete one race.
Posted on 5 Jun
Brooklyn kids launch 7 ft boats they built by hand
Join us in celebrating the accomplishments of our boat-building students Brooklyn Boatworks, a local nonprofit that teaches NYC public school students—mostly from underserved communities—to build and launch their own wooden sailboats from 3 sheets of plywood, a set of plans, and tools.
Posted on 5 Jun
49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 Europeans Day 3
A six-hour bake on the water Veteran and multi-Olympic race officer Sulis was clear at the morning briefing, "Our priority is to get three races for the 49er so they can progress to the gold fleet."
Posted on 5 Jun
Galicia 52 Super Series Royal Cup Day 3
Platoon Aviation turn up the heat but don't dent American Magic Quantum Racing's lead After a disappointing first regatta of the season when they finished in an uncharacteristic last position in Saint-Tropez, the fortunes of the German flagged 2023 52 SUPER SERIES overall champions Platoon Aviation seem to have turned for the better.
Posted on 5 Jun
Diverse international fleet for 5th AEGEAN 600
The race start is a little over 1 month away In a sign that this newest of the world's 600-mile classic offshore races has reached maturity, organizers from the Hellenic Offshore Racing Club are pleased to announce yet another large international fleet will be assembled for the 2025 AEGEAN 600.
Posted on 5 Jun
Newport International Boat Show joins Sail Newport
Premier northeast boat show donates $5,000 to community efforts The Newport International Boat Show, presented by BankNewport announced today its continued involvement in supporting Sail Newport to aid in a shared dedication to attract new boaters to a lifetime of making memories on the water.
Posted on 5 Jun
Sinclair Championship Preview
Noroton Yacht Club (NYC) at the center of thriving Women's Sailing Program Up to a dozen of the country's top women sailing teams will come to the Noroton Yacht Club (NYC) again to compete in the 2025 Susan Widmann Sinclair Women's Championship June 13th-15th.
Posted on 5 Jun