ALICANTE, Spain Dec 19 (Reuters) – The technical
problems that have dogged the Volvo Ocean Race from the start
struck again on Monday as Chinese leaders Sanya were forced out
of the second leg because of a rigging failure.
Mike Sanderson, skipper of the only team racing in a
second-hand boat, feared the entire mast could break after the
key piece of equipment broke overnight while the team were
building a huge lead on the leg from Cape Town to Abu Dhabi.
They were forced to head to Madagascar for repairs, meaning
they now have no chance now of reaching the secret ‘safe haven’
port in time to be transported through piracy-affected waters to
the northern Emirates, where the race to Abu Dhabi will resume.
It was a heartbreaking setback for the New Zealander
Sanderson and his crew who had established a lead of more than
200 nautical miles on the rest of the fleet in sailing’s
toughest test.
Their best hope now is to rejoin the race for leg three to
their home port of Sanya in China.
Sanya were also forced to suspend racing in the opening leg
from Alicante to Cape Town after suffering a hole in her hull,
probably caused by storm debris, on Nov. 6.
“We had an awesome night’s racing and were making massive
gains so we were very upbeat with our progress,” Sanderson said.
“The weather was turning for the better and so we were happy
in our decisions and general progress.
“As you can imagine we are totally gutted and can’t quite
believe this has happened when everything was going so well.”
Continued…
