Repairs for Team Russia and Delta Lloyd

Sunday, 05 October 2008 17:41:07

Team Russia CEO Michael Woods has revealed it will be the middle of next week before his crew are back on the water following the damage they sustained during the in-port races on Saturday.

The yacht endured an eventful afternoon, finishing seventh in the day’s first race before hitting Team Delta Lloyd and then the committee boat at the beginning of the second.

It has left skipper Andreas Hanakamp with a job list that includes repairs to a crushed lower spray rail on the starboard side and possible damage to the bowsprit.

“I think it will take about three or four days to get it all fixed,” Woods said. “The damage is to about three quarters of a metre to the lower rail; a hole was punched from the impact with the committee boat.

“The impact punched through the foam inside the skin of the spray rail, but it did not go into the structural part of the hull.”

The bowsprit, which speared into Delta Lloyd, seems to have escaped unscathed, but Woods said a more thorough investigation would take place. In all, the reparation process will cause a frustrating delay to their sailing programme.

“These repairs will take time,” he said. “Because you have to allow time for sets and vacuuming and you have to let it dry out, because it got wet when racing, it will probably be three to four days. You can’t work on it 24 hours a day because you have to let things dry out.”

Woods also revealed the components of the keel which led to its under-performance in the practice race on Thursday would be delivered later this week.

Delta Lloyd, meanwhile, have also hauled their boat out in order to repair the puncture hole in their hull.

Skipper Ger O’Rourke, who only received a certificate to race on the morning of the in-port race, said: “The boat builders are on it at the moment. We got the crane in last night, came in at 0730 this morning and had it lifted at eight. My guys are pretty tired, they’ll have some party when we all leave.”

O’Rourke expects repairs to the hull to take about three days to complete, with the boat back on the water on Tuesday night.

“We’re aiming to get out sailing on Wednesday. We need to get on the water to test a few sails. We haven’t flown our (Code) Zero, so we need to get more sails up and down a few times just to tick off as much as we can before the offshore.

“It’s going to be a few late nights.”