Photos: L ©David Branigan R © Oskar Kihlborg

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Sun, 11 Jun 2006 22:22:19 UTC

Fifteen hundred long and painstaking miles around Britain and Ireland turns out to be nothing more than a useful indication that Brunel can be competitive in light winds. Their fifth place on Leg 8 has been annulled due to a navigational oversight on the approach to Rotterdam.

Thirty miles from the Rotterdam finish Brunel missed out the MSP special purpose buoy, the starboard hand turning mark which was put in as a mark of the course to direct the fleet down the Dutch coast rather than have them approaching directly through the busiest shipping lanes.

The Brunel crew only learned of their error when it was revealed to them by race officials who, of course, had followed the satellite tracking and watched them sail directly to the finish from the turn off the north east corner of Scotland.

Faced with the prospect of being protested by the race committee Brunel retired from Leg 8. This elevates ABN AMRO TWO from sixth to fifth for the leg and the bonus point still leaves Seb Josse's team in fourth overall even after being beaten by Ericsson today. Just half a point separates them.

"I made a big mistake. I interpreted the change of course, the shorten course, that the next mark would be the finish." Explained Brunel's navigator Will Oxley. "It is a pity because we sailed a very good leg and proved the boat's potential, but given our position in the race, it actually doesn't matter."

"It was a bit of a major mistake in the navigation department." Matt Humphries stated, somewhat underwhelmed, "And that is just the way it is I am afraid. I am extremely unhappy about it. It's an extremely major part of the navigation department, but at the same time it changes nothing in terms of the race. All I can say the boys sailed that leg very, very well, it is just that the navigation needs to be closely looked at next time."

"Brunel missed the last mark of the course, so they did not sail the course. They finished, crossed the finish line, but they can't go back and exonerate themselves. Basically they had two options: we protest them, or they retired." Explained Race Director Andy Hindley.

According to Hindley the course change was perfectly clearly signalled and acknowledged. It was a change of course, not a shorten course, replacing one mark - Fair Isle - with another.

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