anonsally replied to your photo:Vestas Wind So the boat is broken—is it beyond repair? Will they get…
So the boat is broken—is it beyond repair? Will they get a new boat for the next leg? (I assume they have to abandon this leg?)
Based on the small amount of information to come out so far, there is a tiny chance that the boat can still be saved. If that happens, the team could make repairs and ship the boat to a future stopover — maybe Auckland? — so the crew could resume racing there.
But it’s unlikely. The location where they went aground is too remote, and every hour that passes before a salvage vessel reaches the scene reduces their chances. It was near high tide when they went aground, which may have bought them a few hours, but the weather shore of a coral reef with an ocean swell breaking on it is not a place where a boat can survive for long.
There is no other boat for them to use. The race is strictly one-design, and only seven Volvo Ocean 65s have ever been built. There has been talk of building several more for the next race three years from now (along with re-using the current ones), assuming the race can attract sufficient sponsors for that. But for this race, Team Vestas Wind is probably done.
Reposted from http://lies.tumblr.com/post/103958085086.
Tags: anonsally, vor, volvo ocean race, team vestas wind.
