Skipper Andreas Hanakamp has been fighting the terrible weather in the UK over the last week. A series of low-pressure systems brought torrential floods and gale force winds preventing the shore team from reattaching the keel and stepping its new mast.

With a break in the weather on Monday (8 September) it was all hands on deck to reassemble the boat after a major refit, upgrades and refinements. Kosatka is expected to arrive in Spain by the weekend.

Ukrainian helmsman Rodion Luka joins the team for the delivery. Rodion has just returned from the Olympics where he was representing his country in the 49er class. Nina Gruendler the Team Russia’s doctor is also onboard, during the passage she will be running through a series of medical emergencies to train the crew how to a handle everything from fractures to head injuries.

Once in Alicante, the team will prepare for the in-port and pro-am races on 4 – 5 October prior to the start of the first leg to Cape Town on 11 October.