Vestas 11th Hour Racing on the water in New Zealand
Auckland Stopover. Vestas is back with the rest of the fleet. 05 March, 2018
Vestas 11th Hour Racing was returned to the water on Monday in Auckland, with test sailing scheduled later this week…
The boat had been shipped to New Zealand for repairs following a collision just before the finish of Leg 4, off Hong Kong.
“It’s been an amazing effort by all involved to get the boat back in the water,” said skipper Charlie Enright. “The coordination between our shore team, The Boatyard, all the suppliers, the stakeholders… A month ago we said we’d be back on the water on this day, and we’ve stuck to the schedule. It’s amazing.
“We still have to haul it out, put it on its keel, put the rig in, put it through its paces… and we’ll be sailing starting on the 7th, which gives us plenty of time ahead of the in-port race and for the Leg start on the 18th. So we’re in good shape.”
Marine Industry News published the Q&A with Mark Towill, the skipper of Vestas 11th Hour Racing at the time of the crash, on March 2 – it makes ‘interesting’ reading. Go to this link for his full story.
