23.11.2006, 14:01
VELUX 5 OCEANS - Media Alert
UNAI BASURKO REPORTS RUDDER PROBLEMS ONBoard pakea
Unai Basurko (ESP), sailing the new Open 60 PAKEA in the VELUX 5 OCEANS
race, this morning reported into the race organisers that he has a
problem with his port rudder. He is not in any immediate danger and is
continuing to race, safe and well.
The top of the port rudder of PAKEA has a problem where the carbon fibre
is possibly delaminating and detaching itself from the structure of the
rudder at the top. He has "lifted" the rudder so that it is not in the
water, and he is currently on port tack. Unai has been in contact with
his shore team about the problem. Unai is continuing to race and heading
for Fremantle with the possibility of diverting to Cape Town if needed.
Unai will contact the race headquarters if he requires further
assistance.
Speaking on the morning audio interview, the Basque skipper explained,
"Yesterday, at about 17:30 I heard several strange little noises in the
port rudder area, and after a closer examination, I saw the carbon fibre
was damaged in the joint of the rudder and the hull. It wasn't broken,
and even the damage isn't really severe, but I decided to lift the
rudder to minimize the friction in that zone of the boat".
"I immediately contacted my shore team and we've been thinking about all
the options we have now to solve this problem. I think we'll keep on
sailing to South Africa and I'll thoroughly examine the rudder everyday,
and if the damage gets bigger, we'll stop in South Africa to repair it.
If everything goes well, we could even head to Australia and fix the
problem in Fremantle. Then, once in the Southern Ocean, I'd try to get
in a more northerly route than the other skippers. Moreover, we could
sail on port tack most of the 4,000 miles way to Fremantle, which would
be good news for me".
"Right now I'm doing about 10 knots in a 15 knots easterly breeze. I'm
trying not to push the boat too hard, but anyway our average speed
during the last hours, around 10 knots, is not so bad. For me, it would
be brilliant to keep this 10 knots pace until the finish line in
Fremantle!"
"From now on I have to learn to handle PAKEA differently: I'll try not
to push her too hard. It's going to be a difficult task to get to
Fremantle this way, but I hope everything is going to be ok".
"I'm in good shape, I'm trying to get correctly fed, to sleep as much as
I can...everything is ok. Yesterday I was really affected by the problem
onboard, but after talking to my team and analyzing objectively the
problem, I feel much better and I try to be as optimistic as I can".
- END -
|
