Hull damage forces young British crew to retire from race
Ned Collier
Wakefield and Sam Goodchild on board the Class 40 Concise2 have retired from
the Transat Jaques Vabre due to hull damage. The duo had been in second place
for much of the race, trailing just behind Aquarelle.com, but managed to take
the lead after taking a more westerly course than their rivals.
“We are pretty
devastated to say the least. It makes it worse that we had just taken the lead
but on the other hand we leave the race course with our heads high in that we
feel we have sailed a pretty good race and proven ourselves competitive” said
Goodchild. The pair were unsure as to what caused the damaged, and are now
heading downwind to seek refuge in the Azores- approximately 140 miles to their
south.
Image from Alexis Courcoux