10.12.2007
ESTRELLA DAMM PUTS TEMPORARY FIX IN PLACE EN ROUTE TO CAPE TOWN
Currently 480 miles from Cape Town, Estrella Damm skipper Guillermo Altadill
and co-skipper Jonathan McKee are fashioning a temporary fix to their
damaged port rudder to ensure a faster passage to Cape Town where they will
be met by their shore crew so they can complete a full repair.
In a call to his shore team, co-skipper Jonathan McKee explained: "We're
480 miles from Cape Town, currently doing about 10 knots of boat-speed with
our A1 up. Weather and wind dependant, we're looking at an arrival in Cape
Town on Wednesday. We are working with our shore team to come up with a
solution on how to do a temporary fix to our broken port ruder and we're
optimistic that we can put a system in place that will allow us to get to
Cape Town safely and in good time. As a team, Guillermo and I have started
to discuss where we go from here. This rudder situation is a big thing to
deal with, especially with the Southern Ocean approaching. We are aware
that a stop of 24-48 hours will put us at least 2,000 miles behind the race
leaders. I am hoping we can fully repair our rudder system in Cape Town and
then get back out and finish the race but Guillermo and I need to agree our
next move, so there's lots to weigh up on the way to Cape Town."
The latest ETA for Estrella Damm is early Wednesday evening GMT. The
Estrella Damm shore team including Charles Darbyshire, Neil Graham and Rhys
Mellor will arrive in Cape Town early Wednesday morning and already have
berthing and repair facilities in place. To be agreed with Race Direction
of the Barcelona World Race, the shore team will also use the opportunity to
make a series of other smaller repairs to the boat including piecing
together the damaged A2 gennaker and replace the spare watermaker.
For more information about Estrella Damm, Guillermo Altadill and Jonathan McKee please visit www.estrelladammsailingteam.com http://www.estrelladammsailingteam.com
To view the latest videos, images and to hear the skippers in their own words visit www.estrelladammsailingteam.com http://www.estrelladammsailingteam.com
For the official event website and to view the current boat standings visit www.barcelonaworldrace.com http://www.barcelonaworldrace.com
For further information about the Estrella Damm Sailing Team, please contact:
Natalia Kim (Spanish)
Mobile: (+34) 608-59 50 10
Skype: nataliakim
http://www.damm.es http://www.mail2web.com/cgi-bin/redir.asp?lid=0&newsite=http://www.damm.es
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