The Ocean Race committee approves replacement of 11th Hour Racing Team's seriously damaged foils

The team's original foils will be installed into the raceboat for Leg 3 of The Ocean Race © Sailing Energy / The Ocean Race

11th Hour Racing Team's request to replace its foils in Cape Town due to serious damage sustained in the first two legs of the Race, has been approved by the organization's Race Committee. The team's spare foils will be put into the boat over the weekend, and the 60-foot race boat is due back in the water on Tuesday, February 21.

Mark Towill, 11th Hour Racing Team CEO commented, "We are pleased with the Race Committee's decision to allow us to replace the damaged foils, which will allow us to compete in the next Leg in a safe and seamanlike manner. We will continue to work with our design and engineering teams on a repair plan, and look forward to getting Malama back in the water, and back to racing next week."

Three days after arriving in Cape Town, having completed Leg 2 of The Ocean Race 2022-23, 11th Hour Racing Team discovered, through surface Non-Destructive Testing, that both foils on its 60-foot race boat had suffered serious damage.

The team's designers and engineers concluded that the extent of the work required to repair the foils would take a number of weeks, which meant the boat would not have been able to set off on Leg 3 of The Ocean Race, due to depart Cape Town on Sunday, February 26. The team therefore applied to have the damaged foils replaced.

The Race Committee approved the request, stipulating that the team must notify the IMOCA Measurement Team of the change - which has been done - and comply with any measurement requirements they may request. The replacement foils have previously been measured by the IMOCA Measurement Team, and 11th Hour Racing Team is working with the Class Measurers to ensure that the boat is rule compliant before departure.

11th Hour Racing Team is currently lying in second place overall after two legs of The Ocean Race 2022-23. Leg 3 starts on Sunday, February 26, 2023, destination Itajaí, Brazil.