Two days after Leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race was completed with Team SCA\u2019s arrival, Dongfeng Race Team were in a desperate battle of their own on Thursday to transport their stricken boat to Itaja\u00ed for the fitting of a new mast (full story below).<\/p>\n
– \u2018End of project as we know it, if we don\u2019t make it\u2019 \u2013 Team chief Dubois<\/p>\n
– Mast and Dongfeng boat targeted to arrive in Itaja\u00ed on Monday<\/p>\n
– New rig must be installed in half the time it normally takes<\/p>\n
ITAJAI, Brazil, April 9 \u2013 Two days after Leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race was completed with Team SCA\u2019s arrival, Dongfeng Race Team were in a desperate battle of their own on Thursday to transport their stricken boat to Itaja\u00ed for the fitting of a new mast.<\/p>\n
The Chinese team (Charles Caudrelier\/FRA) were forced to retire from the event\u2019s toughest leg on April 1 after their mast fractured in the Southern Ocean, 200 nautical miles (nm) from Cape Horn.<\/p>\n
They found refuge in Ushuaia, Argentina, and a team of shore crew members plus Chinese sailors, Wolf (Yang Jiru) and Black (Liu Xue), are now sailing Dongfeng under motor and sail to Itaja\u00ed.<\/p>\n
The entire project is geared around having a fully fixed-up boat ready for the Leg 6 departure for Newport, Rhode Island, on April 19.<\/p>\n
But what if they don\u2019t achieve that? \u201cIf we don\u2019t make it? It will be the end of our project as we know it,\u201d said Team Director, Bruno Dubois (BEL).<\/p>\n
The best-case arrival time for the boat in Itaja\u00ed, according to a team statement issued on Thursday, is Monday, April 13. The crew is currently 1,000nm from their destination in the south-east of Brazil.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a separate journey is underway with the mast being flown from Dubai, via Amsterdam, to S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil. From there, it will be driven to Itaja\u00ed once it has cleared customs.<\/p>\n
The arrival time for the mast \u2013 with a \u2018best case\u2019 scenario, say the team \u2013 is also Monday.<\/p>\n
Dongfeng Race Team\u2019s statement continued: \u201cHowever, that will just be the beginning of our race against time.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce we have the boat and the mast, there is the work that normally takes a week to do in half that time \u2013 to prepare the boat itself after the tough leg from Auckland, and to prepare, set up and tune the new mast and rigging.\u201d<\/p>\n
It continues: \u201cNow calculate the odds of everything running smoothly. As it stands, we have no idea if the truckers will be willing to drive over the weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo best case scenario, the rig and the boat both arrive in Itaja\u00ed on Monday as planned. Otherwise, the rig arrives two days later and we struggle to make the Team Vestas Wind Itaja\u00ed In-Port Race (Saturday, April 18).\u201d<\/p>\n
The clock continues to tick, but shore crew member, Henry Woodhouse, who is currently helping sail the boat through the south Atlantic to Itaja\u00ed, remains bullish.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook out Brazil, here we come,\u201d he wrote in a blog from the boat on Wednesday evening. \u201cWe may be late arriving, but we will be on that start line for Leg 6 ready to return with a vengeance.\u201d<\/p>\n
via High stakes| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two days after Leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race was completed with Team SCA\u2019s arrival, Dongfeng Race Team were in a desperate battle of their own on Thursday to transport their stricken boat to Itaja\u00ed for the fitting of … Continue reading