“Back” as in back sailing again! A quick repair of Hugo Boss’ broken spar gets Ryan Breymaier and Pepe Ribes ready for the start of the OCEAN MASTERS New York to Barcelona Race on June 1. Great to see them back on their feet so quick. Here’s the Tuesday morning update from Ryan, with nice photos from mstrsail, and be sure to check Ryan’s search for Vendee Globe partners here.
Since breaking the rig about 400 miles from Newport, it has been a stressful journey to get back on the water. We were very lucky the break happened where it did, as the spreaders and most of the rigging remained sound, and allowed us to reuse them, and there was not one broken stitch on any of the sails.
Fortunately we were coming to Newport; if you have to break a mast, this should be the destination. When we arrived at Newport Shipyard, all the concerned parties were there and ready to help. Jimmy and Jay from the Shipyard have been great, Scott and Dave from Composite Rigging, Chuck, Mike, and the rest of the Southern Spars team, and Stew, Vinny, and Dan from Al Fresco composites are all great guys at the top of their respective games, and each put in long hours to see us back on the water as soon as possible.
Of course, there is no way any of this would have happened without the Hugo Boss shore team, who are each expert in their field, and have been above and beyond, putting in many 20 hour days. You cannot say enough about these guys and their dedication to our success.
It has been a great sojourn here in Newport, irrespective of the rigging problems, and I can honestly say that the Hugo Boss has never been in better shape. As you can see from the photos, we have been out for our first sail, and are confident in the repair. The mast sets up beautifully, the sail shape is even better than before, and we are ready to leave this morning for New York City and our pro-am race on the 29th.
It looks like 15-20 upwind for the trip, (as expected) which should be fine, as it allows us to make good time getting there.
This whole process has been a drag for everyone involved, but positive thinking and hard work are putting us in a great position to still win the NY-Barcelona! I am looking forward to putting on that Hugo Boss suit as we cross the finish line in first place. With everything that the team has dealt with here, that will be the ultimate success.
It is a few days off, but it looks like a very classic North Atlantic crossing at present, riding low pressure system across in 30 knots of breeze, just what Boss loves and is set up for. We can then tackle the Med, which is Pepe’s home turf, and I know quite well. The race is ours to lose.
Please do not hesitate to come down to North Cove Marina in Manhattan to check out the boats. If we are not super busy (or if you have kids along), you might just get a look around.”
Ryan Breymaier
