While Team illbruck’s been carrying out repairs following her collision with SEB, News Corp is clocking up miles at the front of the VOR fleet
The collision between the two VOR yachts SEB and illbruck was a clear cut port/starboard incident. SEB was travelling at around eight to nine knots when her bow hit illbruck. Illbruck’s skipper John Kostecki said that the collision was roughly one metre forward from the transom and fortunately because it was on their leeward side, all the crew were on the opposite side of the boat, so no one was hurt.
The impact resulted in a hole, the size of a fist in illbruck’s hull. The Swedish boat’s stem then scraped down the hull ripping out the aft stanchion that holds illbruck’s guardrails. “It was pretty surprising,” Kostecki said. “It was 13 knots of wind and we had jibs up so it wasn’t like the big overlapping Code Zero where you couldn’t see to leeward. The visibility was good. I don’t know – they just mistimed it I guess and hit us.”
Repairs have been carried out but the team needs to finish the job when the conditions are more suitable. However, having lost a little distance during the period it took to carry out the repairs, illbruck is now back in the pack and is currently lying in fifth place.
Elsewhere on the course racing has is as close as ever. After beating into light headwinds along the Brazilian coast on a very narrow track towards Cape Frio, News Corp was the only yacht to tack right at the Cape and subsequently moved from last to first. The other yachts expect to get a right-hand wind shift further to the east and regain what was lost to News Corp.
Further offshore, djuice is holding pace with Tyco and Assa Abloy, both yachts that have been fast in these particular conditions on previous legs. Amer Sports One dropped from second just six hours ago to seventh, but has not reported any technical problems. SEB and Amer Sports Too are racing each other at the back of the fleet, fighting hard to stay with the fleet.
Position Report, Day 3, 0358 GMT
1 NEWS
2 TYCO (25 miles from leader)
3 DJCE (25 miles from leader)
4 AART (25 miles from leader)
5 ILBK (26 miles from leader)
6 AONE (27 miles from leader)
7 ATOO (30 miles from leader)
8 TSEB (30 miles from leader)