Skipper Charlie Enright says the goal is to be in Genova in time for the In Port Race, July 1st.
Following a feverish few days of around the clock boat-building and engineering, 11th Hour Racing Team slipped lines in The Hague on Sunday evening bound for Genova, Italy.
The team isn’t racing to Italy – at least not in leg 7 of The Ocean Race – as they have been forced to retire from the leg in order to expedite repairs and file a redress claim with the Jury.
But there is now a race within a race, as 11th Hour Racing Team has set a goal of arriving in Genova in time to participate in the Grand Finale, concluding with the In Port Race on July 1st.
“We are very tight on time but we will do everything we can to get to Genova to join the rest of the fleet for the Grand Finale of The Ocean Race,” said skipper Charlie Enright. “We want to be there in time for the start of the In-Port Race on July 1, to give us the opportunity to compete in, and win, the In-Port Race Series. It’s a race-within-a-race, and the countdown is now on.
“We were determined that this would not put an end to our campaign for The Ocean Race, and I hope it is far from over. It is a testament to the hard work of the entire team that, just 72 hours after the incident, we are able to get back out to sea.”
The full story from 11th Hour Racing Team is here
The collision that caused the damage occured just minutes into leg 7, when GUYOT environnement-Team Europe, on port tack and the ‘give-way’ vessel in this situation, hit 11th Hour Racing Team at speed, resulting in significant damage to both boats.
While both teams retired from the leg, only 11th Hour Racing Team has been able to make repairs that allows the possibility of reaching Genova in time to participate in the Grand Finale.
Earlier Sunday, GUYOT environnement-Team Europe left The Hague as well, but their destination is the team base in France. With no way of quickly repairing the bowsprit or the structural damage in the forward section of the boat, the team determined it would not have been able to sail to Genova in time. Instead, skipper Ben Dutreux says he and the rest of the team intend to come to Genova to meet the IMOCA fleet and pay tribute to all those completing the around the world race.
For 11th Hour Racing Team, getting the boat in shape to leave for Genova is just one piece of business the team has been forced to attend to in the wake of the collision.
11th Hour Racing Team has also filed a Request for Redress, which is a process that allows the World Sailing International Jury for The Ocean Race to award scoring points to a team if it determines that team has been prevented from racing to its potential due to no fault of its own.
The Jury is yet to schedule this hearing – this information will be shared as soon as it is available.
