Most of Volvo Ocean Race fleet all at sea
by Sail-World.com/nz 6 Apr 2018 01:53 BST
6 April 2018
Vestas 11th Hour Racing, Port Stanley, Falkland Islands © Jeremie Lecaudey / Volvo Ocean Race
SHK Scallywag have announced that a delivery crew has begun that task of delivering the Volvo 65 to Itajai, hoping to reach the Brazilian port before the start of Leg 8 on April 22.
In an upbeat message posted on social media the team announced that a seven male, one female crew had been engaged for the voyage which will pass through the Strait of Magellan, the route discovered in 1520 being the shortest but most difficult to navigate of the three routes around the bottom of South America. Cape Horn is located on the island of Tierra del Fuego. The other option being Drake Passage.
The Hong Kong entry withdrew from Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race after crew member John Fisher was claimed by the Southern Ocean as a result of a crash gybe at a point 600nm SE of Point Nemo on March 26. He was temporarily untethered from the boat at the time of the incident.
The social announcement from SHK Scallywag reads:
The Scallywags aren’t just a sailing team... we are a family with strong bonds who are always there for each other and look after each other, they flew to the end of the Earth at a hour's notice.
They’re the delivery team!
The eight sailors, made up of some of the legends of the sea; Campbell Knox, Douglas Knox, Larry Jamerson, Matt Pearce, Peter Buckley, Peter Goldsworthy, Mary Fontes, and Willy Roberts, are leaving Puerto Montt, Chile, and are heading for the Straight (sic) of Magellan, then popping out in the Atlantic, and making a dash for Itajai.
Stay safe, everyone, and thank you for everything! We’ll see you soon.
Two of the seven competitors are yet to finish Leg 7, being Turn the Tide on Plastics which is 202nm from the finish line and overall leader MAPFRE which is 554nm from the finish. Both were caught in by light winds from a stationery high pressure zone in the South Atlantic, while first two finishers carried a strong sailing breeze to Itajai. SHK Scallywag will be able to motor sail to Itajai to make the fastest possible time.
The other competitor who withdrew from Leg 7, Vestas 11th Hour racing is still in Port Stanley, Falkland Islands after breaking her mast 100nm from the British territory. The US-flagged entry set out for Itajai under motor but had to return for unexplained reasons. The latest announcement from the team says:
Our crew is still in the Falkland Islands working hard to get to Itajaí. Boat captain, Nick Dana, has been collaborating with locals to get the boat ready to motor up the South American coast. A team of experts is arriving on site to make some final checks before the boat sets off at the end of the week.
The crew are using ballast and trim tanks to take on the extra fuel required for the voyage. Port Stanley is 1800nm from Itajai.