Team Adventure to stop in Wellington for additional repairs
by Keith Taylor 11 Feb 2001 14:56 GMT
TEAM ADVENTURE WILL STOP IN WELLINGTON, NZ FOR ADDITIONAL REPAIRS TO DAMAGED CROSSBEAM
Team Adventure will pause here in her race around the world for additional repair work to her main
crossbeam. The beam was first damaged in the Southern Ocean and was repaired in Cape Town, South Africa during a four and a half day stopover there.
Skipper Cam Lewis, from Lincolnville, ME, reported today from the Tasman Sea that he expected the repair work to the delaminated outer skin surface of the main crossbeam would be completed within the 60-hour pit stop time required under the rules of The Race of the Millennium.
"We have made careful examinations of the interior structure of the crossbeam and there is no sign of any problem inside with the repairs and modifications made in Cape Town," Lewis said. "However the exterior skin of the crossbeam has peeled away significantly over a two-meter square area
repair area where it is constantly blasted by waves. While the beam is sound, we have no alternative but to restore the exterior skin integrity. We will also carefully survey the boat for any other potential problems at the same time."
Lewis made the announcement not long after the race leader Club Med rounded Cape Horn, some 5,000 miles ahead, and began the journey up through the Atlantic Ocean to the finish line in Marseilles. At the time Innovation Explorer, a sister-ship, of Team Adventure and Club Med, was the second-placed boat, about 800 miles from Cape Horn.
The 110-foot American boat lost seven days in time and nearly 4,000 miles two weeks ago, after putting into Cape Town, South Africa, to put ashore two crewmen injured when the boat hit a freak wave. Repairs were completed at the same time.
Larry Rosenfeld, co-navigator of Team Adventure, and Lewis's partner in the Team Adventure Education Foundation project, said that the boat was enjoying ideal sailing conditions and was making full speed today. However he expects lighter winds ahead, and estimated that the boat will reach Wellington on Tuesday morning local time. Its arrival will coincide with the arrival of
carbonfiber construction experts flying in from the United States to handle the repair work.
More Information: