Volvo Ocean Race, gravi problemi strutturali per Team Delta Loyd
Equipo TelefonicaEricsson RacingIncidentiOceanoTeam Delta LloydVelaVolvo Ocean Race 18 Dicembre 2008 Zerogradinord 0
[singlepic=1135,250,170,,left]Volvo Ocean Race – Cochin – Gravi problemi per l’ex ABN Amro One, ora NED-1, il VOR 70 del Team Delta Lloyd. Il navigatore Matt Gregory ha comunicato che verso le 19.00 uno dei bracci meccanici che permettono il basculamento della chiglia si è rotto, una rottura che ha seguito di poche ore la scoperta di una perdita d’olio di uno dei martinetti idraulici.
Nel momento della rottura, Team Delta Lloyd stava navigando nel Golfo del Bengale in dicitto nodi d’aria. L’equipaggio di Roberto Bemudez ha immediatamente chiamato lo shore team e ha decisio di bloccare la deriva in posizione centrale, usando il braccio funzionante. Una soluzione che ha permesso a NED-1 di riprendere la navigazione verso Singapore a una velocità di circa nove nodi.
“Abbiamo sentito un gran botto e immediatamente abbiamo pensato di aver perso l’albero – ha raccontato Sander Pluijm da bordo – E’ stato uno shock e tutti ci siamo messi a cercare la causa di quel rumore. Non ci abbiamo messo molto a capire cosa era successo. E’ troppo presto per sapere da cosa è stata generata la rottura, ma ciò che è certo è che non possiamo far basculare la chiglia a nostro piacimento”.
“E’ una sfortuna incredibile, ma in questo momento, in qualità di skipper, penso solo a portare a casa sano il mio equipaggio” è stato il pensiero di Roberto Bermudez.
Al team olandese è giunta la solidarietà di tutti gli equipaggi in gara, compersa quella di Bouwe Bekking, impegnato su Telefonica Blue ad arginare il tentativo di rimonta di Ericsson 4, lontano solo quattro miglia.
Leg 3, day 5, 19.00 GMT, rankings
1 – Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) DTF 806 nm
2 – Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +4 nm
3 – Ericsson 3 SWE (Anders Lewander/SWE) +23 nm
4 – Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +25 nm
5 – Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) +28 nm
6 – Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +38 nm
7 – Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) +99 nm
8 – Team Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) +137 nm
Per seguire la regata sul Race Tracker clicca qui.
TEAM DELTA LLOYD SUFFER KEEL PROBLEM
[singlepic=1136,250,170,,left][Volvo Ocean Race Press Release] Team Delta Lloyd, trailing the rest of the fleet for much of this third leg from Cochin to Singapore, were dealt a savage blow today when they broke a hydraulic ram on their canting keel mechanism. Navigator Matt Gregory notified Volvo Ocean Race headquarters at midday that they had developed a hydraulic oil leak and it was later discovered that there was extensive damage to carbon structure around the port side ram.
They were sailing in 18-20 knots of breeze in the Bay of Bengal at the time. The crew has been in contact with their shore support team. They have implemented a temporary fix to centre the keel using the starboard ram and are continuing to limp along at 9 knots.
Media Crew Member Sander Pluijm explained the incident and the options open to them in an email: “We heard a big bang. Johnny (Gerd-Jan Poortman) and I thought the mast had come down. Everybody was shocked and we started searching below deck. It did not take long before we found the problem – the port side carbon structure that holds the ram was broken. It is too early to know the exact cause of the damage, but it is likely to be a failure of the hydraulic system. The seal is still on the engine. We are looking into the possibilities of going the nearest harbor or to continue towards Singapore, which we prefer.”
Spaniard Roberto ‘Chuny’ Bermudez, who took over as skipper of the boat from Irishman Ger O’Rourke for the second leg of the race from Cape Town to Cochin, said: “This is incredibly bad luck, but the safety of the crew is my first priority. It is my job to bring them home safely.”
The shore team is making plans for a repair in Singapore in time for the in-port race on 10 January.
Delta Lloyd is the only first generation Volvo Open 70 among the class of 2008-09 and was previously campaigned as ABN Amro One, the all-conquering winner of the previous race under the stewardship of New Zealand’s Mike Sanderson.
‘This is a yacht race but it is relative when you are in trouble on this big ocean’
The boat was designed by the same man who penned the lines of the current Ericsson sisterships the Argentinian Juan Kouyoumdjian.
The canting keel is hinged at the bottom of the hull and canted from side to side by hydraulic rams. This swings the ballast bulb to the windward side to counteract the forces of the sails trying to heel over the boat.
News of Delta Lloyd’s misfortune reached Bouwe Bekking on the race leader Telefonica Blue. “I heard of the mishap of our friends on Delta Lloyd, and you don’t have to tell me how they feel,” the Dutchman wrote. “Been there, seen it and done it. As soon I had seen the message, I reported back to race headquarters, that we are on standby to assist, as I know as well what that means to hear for DL that others are there for them. Of course this is a yacht race, but it is oh so relative, when you are in trouble on this big ocean. But I hope that they can continue without assistance, ‘Chuny’ will have a grip on the situation, and will make the right calls.”
Meanwhile Bekking and his men continue to be stalked by Ericsson 4, who by the 16.00 GMT Position Report, were within six miles as they take aim at the scoring gate at Pulau We 250 miles away.
“Oh, yes, we are still in a boat race and a hot one to get first to the gate,” Bekking added. “We had a very similar situation in the last race, and managed to keep first by only a whisker, and it looks a very similar situation. E4 is behind, but has a better angle to the gate, meaning that they can sail relatively faster. The other boats are also still in striking distance, so we keep a close eye on them as well.”
Ericsson 3 (+27) leads the battle of the “other boats” for third place from Telefonica Black and Puma (both +30) and Green Dragon (+41).
At the tail, as expected, Team Russia (+106) has stretched its advantage over Delta Lloyd (+134) who have more on their minds than position reports and scoring gates for now.
Leg 3, day 5, 19.00 GMT, rankings
1 – Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) DTF 806 nm
2 – Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +4 nm
3 – Ericsson 3 SWE (Anders Lewander/SWE) +23 nm
4 – Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +25 nm
5 – Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) +28 nm
6 – Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +38 nm
7 – Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) +99 nm
8 – Team Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) +137 nm
To follow the race on Race Tracker click here.
To visit the video gellery click here.
No comments so far.
Be first to leave comment below.