‘Not easy!’ – Team Malizia to attempt critical mast repair on the water at The Ocean Race 2022-23
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ByEurosport
Updated 02/03/2023 at 14:38 GMT
The start of Leg 3 of The Ocean Race 2022-23 was dramatic in Cape Town itself and the drama has continued in the Southern Ocean with Team Malizia having a serious and critical mast issue that was spotted on Wednesday. Their technical team has now put together a plan of attack that will allow them to repair the issue on the water on Thursday rather than having to return to port in Cape Town.
Highlights: All the best action from Leg 3 of The Ocean Race 2022-23
Team Malizia have confirmed that their crew will attempt a critical mast repair on the water during Leg 3 of The Ocean Race 2022-23.
The damage was discovered on Wednesday afternoon, with Malizia's technical team working hard to find a solution.
That solution will now be implemented on Thursday and while the team will stay on the water, it will obviously result in a major slowdown as the work will take a long time and be complicated.
The team’s statement read: "Co-skipper Rosalin Kuiper climbed up the mast to take photos of the damage in order to assess the situation.
"The crack is 30cm long and has ripped a vertical line in the top of the mast just above the first reef and where the fractional head sail would sit.
"The technical team have discussed the issue with their external designers and engineers and have elaborated a plan for the mast repair.
"The repair involves preparing the area and then laminating large patches to the top of the mast to cover the ripped area. The repair should give the mast the same strength as before and allow the team to continue sailing with full use of all sails.
"If the crew are not fully satisfied with the repair then they could still continue but with reduced sails. As the team needs many hours to do this they will wait until first light to start and continue under reduced sail until then.
"This is not an easy repair to execute at sea, clipped on to the top of a 28 metre mast which will be swaying at huge degrees in the large Southern Ocean swell.
"The repair will take hours and will involve sanding the area, preparing the lamination and then laminating it. The team will be fully briefed by the tech team but the strength and endurance to do the repair in these conditions should not be underestimated. It should be clear by lunchtime tomorrow if it has been possible.
"[Malizia skipper] Boris Herrmann sent a video to the team saying, 'We have discussed how to deal with it. So we are trying to repair it tomorrow then the water should be a little quieter. This is of course a strong setback for us but still we have to keep going.
"The sun's rays are shining through the clouds as if they wanted to show us that maybe there is more to it than just winning or not winning!'"
It is the second big problem for a team in the past couple of days with GUYOT environment – Team Europe having to return to port in Cape Town after suffering a major structural issue with the boat.
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"I was just coming off watch and I was just about to get into my bed and I could see on the opposite side of the boat there was a pelican case tied to the floor and it was moving," said Annie Lush of the issue.
"I didn't think I'd seen it move like that before and when I went to check I could hear the noise of delamination... We could hear it and see it moving up and down... We spoke to the architects and there is no way we can fix this out here, so we have to return to Cape Town."
The problems for other teams mean Holcim-PRB have pulled out a massive lead but there is still a long way to go on the race to Itajai, Brazil.
BORIS HERRMANN STATEMENT ON THURSDAY
In a further update on Thursday skipper Boris Herrmann released the following statement where he explained the difficulties involved.
"Small update from the sea:
"A very strong metal part holding a sail up broke the evening before yesterday at nightfall. (Code zero lock)
"When the sail fell down its halyard ripped a 26 cms long hole in the face of the mast at the top (ripping through the carbon fibre structure).
"The sail fell in the water and got pierced on the foil. We managed to pull it back on board.
"With reefed sails we can now continue to sail. And once we have managed to put carbon over the crack we can sail almost back at 100%.
"Right now we are so slow because a high pressure caught us and we are with no wind in massive big waves. It’s a bit horrible being thrown around and seeing the sails suffer from slamming from side to side.
"We hope to be able to do the repair soon and resume proper sailing. Hopefully tomorrow.
"All in all we had quite a bit of bad luck in this leg:
"We started well and then lost out due to bad information on the aghulas current. (Not sure better info exists-tbc) This put us a bit behind holcim. Losing the sail made us loose more. Valuable miles. This added lead to us being caught up by the high pressure which holcim managed to escape.
"The team is amazingly positive. And has a strong morale.
"Myself I feel a bit shattered. Emotionally. Disappointed. But the great people around me show me the right attitude. Keep face and remain strong to achieve the dream of this round the world race. We thought about going back to Cape Town. This would be an easy reaction. The race could be continued from Itajai.
"But we now all agree to try and continue. It takes of course even more mental strength then such an endeavor takes anyhow. The day we stand on the dock in itajai I will be super proud. These long races are incredibly challenging. I send u some photos. Send us some good luck, 10 knots of wind and flat seas."
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