Oceanracing 2002 - Around Alone

Absender: "Aroundalone"
Datum: 18. Jan 2003 21:01

TROUBLE ON BTC VELOCITY
Alan Paris, skipper of Open 40 BTC Velocity - photo Andreas Hanakamp / Marinepics There are problems on board BTC Velocity; not serious ones, but enough to force a stop in Hobart. Skipper Alan Paris sent a brief email to race Opps yesterday (Saturday local time) to report that his D1 had broken. D1 for non-sailors is a critical piece of rigging that holds up the mast. Fortunately there are two of these shrouds, one on either side of the mast, so that if one goes the other will still hold up the mast providing the boat is sailing on the right tack. Since it was the stay on the starboard side that broke, Alan Paris is still able to continue sailing on port tack. His email was to the point. "Well after such a trouble free leg its my turn now," he wrote. "At 4:20 pm local time the D1 snapped at the head. This of course puts the rig in jeopardy and I will be effecting a repair that should be good enough to get me to port. That's the bad news. The good news is that I am only 100 nautical miles from Hobart and should, when the weather ab ates some, it is presently blowing 35 knots, be able to make it there in 24 to 36 hours. The repair / replacement will be somewhat straightforward and I should be on my way quite quickly to Tauranga."

Alan Paris Skipper-BTC Velocity

With that Alan turned and headed for Hobart. A few hours later we received an update. "The wind has died down some, to 21 knots from the 35 knots earlier and the sea state is much better being closer to Tasmania. The port of choice has changed from Hobart to Spring Bay, which is approximately 35 nm NE of Hobart. index reason for the change is that this enables me to stay on the port tack, the undamaged side of the rig, all the way into shore. It also is a deep water port.
"BTC Velocity, as it seems is always the case in these events, has been the recipient of many peoples kindness, most of whom I have never who are jumping to my aid. After the stay parted I called the builder of BTC Velocity in Brisbane, Australia he immediately sourced the best possible way to get me back up and sailing. I then called his contact in Hobart, who among other things suggested the port of Spring Bay as a safer and easier option. Then he c alled one of his ' mates ' who will be meeting me at 06:00 local time to tow and escort me into the harbour.
"So here is the plan. There is no one in Hobart or Tasmania in general who has the equipment to re do the stay on my mast. The only option is to ship the stay to Melbourne, Australia and have the work done there. I am going one step further and on Monday morning I will be on the first flight from Hobart to Melbourne, there are 7 flights a day, will go straight to the rigging shop, get the ' rod rigging re headed ' , (this is the repair needed ) catch the next plane back to Hobart, put the stay on and leave Monday night. Therefore my only time on land will be 36 hours and thus the whole event costing 48 hours of wasted time. Not bad considering. So that's the plan. We will see how it unfolds."
Paris is a man with an intensely optimistic spirit. As usual he is taking this latest setback in stride and ended his email with a positive twist. "I think I will buy some fresh food, have a nice shower, check into a hotel for a night," he wrote. "And explore Hobart on Sunday afternoon. This might not be so bad after all." Always looking for the bright side and ever grateful to the thousands of people who support him, Alan is a true Around Alone competitor.
This morning (Sunday) at 08:00 New Zealand time he called to say that he was 6 miles from Spring Bay. He was looking forward to getting in and figured that he could we be back sailing within 24hours. He will, however, receive a 48 hour penalty for stopping, but that bit of news does not both him. Instead he emailed Derek Hatfield with a simple question. "Where was that Coffee Shop in Hobart ?" he wrote. If you donÂ’t get the joke read the 17th January report, On Top of Old Smokey. We wish you a speedy return to the race Alan, and a good nightÂ’s sleep.
--- Brian Hancock great.circle@verizon.net