The replacement rigging fittings for the eight boats, produced in Germany and finished in Tyneside, have now arrived in Hawaii along with four riggers from the UK.

The team has spent today inspecting the rigs and preparing the ground work for the task ahead. Work has already begun on the remaining section of westernaustralia2011.com’s mast, which was craned off the boat on Monday (31 March), in preparation for the arrival of Nick Wellspring from Atlantic Spars early this morning. He will be overseeing the re-build and the installation of the masts on westernaustralia2011.com and Durban 2010 and Beyond.

The consignment of three mast sections and standing rigging for the two dismasted boats, along with the swaging machine required to apply the new fittings, is currently in Los Angeles after being freighted from Luxembourg last weekend. The consignment has cleared customs and is currently scheduled to arrive in Hawaii today (2 April).

The crew of the eight boats have been reporting back to Ala Wai Harbour today to prepare for the restart which is scheduled to take place between 3-5 April. The pontoons have been hives of activity as the crews, get back to the business of preparing their boats for Race 8 – Honolulu to Santa Cruz.