Skipper Conrad Colman's all-Kiwi crew has patched up rudder damage mid-Atlantic after striking an unidentified object on the delivery crossing to the United States.
Two days ago, an object yet to be identified hit the rudder of MSIG Europe hard enough to do real damage. Colman initially thought the object was a whale but has changed his mind judging by the size and the feel of the impact.
"It was smaller than a whale and solider than a whale," Colman said. Nobody on board got a look at what it was. The boat was sailing along normally, then it wasn't.
Colman, Anna Merchant, Aaron Hume-Merry and Megan Thomson had spare parts on board and a fix was performed underway. MSIG Europe is back up to speed toward the United States.
The crew, the first all-Kiwi lineup to compete in an Ocean Race event since 2012, was already dealing with a weather depression that formed almost as soon as the last one cleared a few days into the crossing, with more forecast before they reach land. Now there's a rudder to sort as well.
About 10 days remain before the inaugural Ocean Race Atlantic starts from New York on 1 September. Once MSIG Europe reaches the US, there's a carbon fibre repair job waiting before the boat lines up on the start line with the rest of the fleet.
