Cursed?
Telefonica Blue suffered a cruel blow tonight when the Spanish boat broke
its forestay while leading the fleet through the Southern Ocean on day 20 of
the marathon Leg 5 from Qingdao to Rio. Skipper Bouwe Bekking notified Volvo Ocean Race headquarters of their mishap
at 17:40 GMT. The crew has put in place a jury rig and has decided to carry
on under reduced sail. In an email sent from the boat at 22:48 GMT, Bekking graphically described
the incident and underlined the team¹s desire to continue. "We were ripping along, making great speeds in 15 knots of breeze, when all
of sudden a loud bang was heard from the rig. My first instinct was to look
up but I saw that the mast was still in one piece. A fraction later, the
headsail dropped in the water,"
These guys just cannot get a break…
Disappointment among the crew (l-r) Xabier Fernadez, Jordi Calafat and
Jonathan Swain photographed by Gabriele Olivo/Telefonica Blue/Volvo
Ocean Race. Thanks much to onEdition Photography for the info.
