Volvo Ocean Race, Telefonica Blue torna in gara
Equipo TelefonicaIncidentiOceanoVelaVolvo Ocean Race 15 Febbraio 2009 Zerogradinord 0
[singlepic=1737,250,170,,left]Volvo Ocean Race – Qingdao – Telefonica Blue, il VOR 70 dello skipper Bouwe Bekking, seconda forza della Volvo Ocean Race, ha ripreso il mare poche ore fa. L’equipaggio dell’Equipo Telefonica, l’unico rimasto in gara dopo il momentaneo ritiro di Telefonica Black, aveva sospeso la navigazione ieri prima del via della quinta tappa – Qingdao-Rio de Janeiro – dopo essere finito in una secca alla velocità di sei nodi.
Lo shore team del consorzio spagnolo, messo in allarme dal manifestarsi di una crepa tra il bulbo e la lama di deriva, ha verificato l’integrità della struttura e trovando tutto in regola ha riconsegnato la barca nella mani dello skipper olandese, tornato in gara con 19 ore di ritardo rispetto agli avversari.
“Poteva andare molto peggio – ha spiegato Bekking – Non abbiamo riscontrato danni strutturali e ora siamo sicuri di poter far rotta verso Rio in tranquillità La tappa è molto lunga, la più lunga di sempre, quindi siamo sicuri di poter recuperare il distacco”.
[audio:Addis_150209.mp3]
Tom Addis, navigatore di Telefonica Blue, spiega l’accaduto. Audio courtesy Volvo Ocean Race.
Leg 5, day 1, 04.00 GMT, rankings
1. Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) DTF 12291
2. Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +2 nm
3. Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +13 nm
4. Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) +28 nm
5. Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +176 nm
Team Delta Lloyd NED/IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) DNS
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) DNS
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS
TELEFONICA BLUE RETURNS TO THE RACE COURSE
[singlepic=1738,250,170,,left][Volvo Ocean Race Press Release] Bouwe Bekking’s Telefonica Blue team has resumed racing and started leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race. The team starts the leg in fifth place, after crossing the starting line nearly 19 hours behind the leaders.
Telefonica Blue had suspended racing just minutes ahead of the starting gun for leg five on Saturday afternoon in Qingdao (05.00 GMT), after running aground and damaging the keel before the start. Skipper Bouwe Bekking made the difficult decision to suspend racing in order to have the boat hauled out of the water to assess the extent of the damage before starting the leg.
Fortunately for the team, tests showed the damage was not critical. The shore crew worked at a furious pace overnight to fix damage to the bulb and fin and by sunrise in Qingdao on Sunday morning, the boat was ready to be lifted into the water.
“It could have been way worse,” said a relieved Bouwe Bekking. “The good news is there’s no structural damage and I’m just happy that we checked it out. You don’t want to go out on a leg like this where your keel or your bulb could fall off. It’s good news.”
With the leading boats in the fleet starting nearly 19 hours ahead, the Telefonica Blue crew will have their work cut out for them to make up for lost time.
“We are going to lose a bit more over the first couple of days, as they’re always in better pressure, but hopefully they park up and we reel them back in.”
Telefonica Blue resumed racing at 23:42 GMT on Saturday night (07:42 local time in Qingdao).
Leg 5, day 1, 04.00 GMT, rankings
1. Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) DTF 12291
2. Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +2 nm
3. Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +13 nm
4. Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) +28 nm
5. Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +176 nm
Team Delta Lloyd NED/IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) DNS
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) DNS
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS
No comments so far.
Be first to leave comment below.