Hull & Humber has resumed racing in Leg 3 of the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race. When the boat slipped from Royal Cape Yacht Club at 9.20am local time (0720 GMT) it was the moment the crew had been waiting for after being confined to port since their start day collision with Cork, Ireland which forced them to return to harbour to make repairs.
Teams of boat builders from Action Yachting at RCYC have been working around the clock, first to cut away the damaged section of the hull, then to replace it, building up the layers of fibre glass and high density foam that make up the shell of the boat.
Carpenters took over on Sunday to complete the work on the interior and to install a new toe rail along the edge of the deck before the final fixtures and fittings were put into place by the Clipper maintenance team.
The final sign off from MECAL, the UK certifying authority authorised by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to survey and certificate commercial sailing vessels such as those in the Clipper fleet, came late last night. MECAL has been working with a Cape Town marine surveyor to ensure the repairs meet the rigorous standards of safety required for ocean racing yachts.
Hull & Humber’s skipper Piers Dudin has been at the yacht club every day, monitoring progress on his charge. As he prepared to step on board and steer her out into Table Bay he said, “I’m really happy. She’s looking good, really smart. Structurally she’s even stronger than she was before. The food’s on board, we’ve topped up the water tanks, put in a bit of fuel and we’re all set, ready to get out there and chase some boats down.
“Getting into Geraldton in time for Christmas is our goal, and we’ll be able to keep a good measure of that as we go. Quite a few of the crew have family waiting for them there so it’s important they get to spend time with them. It’s also important that during the crossing we keep up the level of training for the next race as well.”
Round the world crew member, Della Parsons, said, “I’m absolutely ready to go. I’m desperate to get off but, having had nearly three weeks here in port, I’m feeling distinctly unfit so I’m a little nervous. But we’re really ready to go now, to get sailing again and hit that Southern Ocean!”
Alex O’Connell and Adam Elliot, the two ONE HULL Ambassadors taking part in this leg of Clipper 09-10 worked solidly through the day yesterday, scrubbing and cleaning the boat inside and out to get rid of the dust and remnants of fibre glass to get Hull & Humber ready to go. Standing next to the sparklingly clean boat this morning, Alex said, “I’m really proud of how she’s looking, much better than she did yesterday morning! She’s in tip top condition again and ready to go.”
Very strong winds blew through the marina last night. Alex says, “I didn’t sleep much last night with the wind and I’m an absolute bag of nerves and excited at the same time this morning, so I can’t wait to get going now.”
The Race Committee now has the difficult task of assessing penalties and redress for Cork and Hull & Humber. Piers has now officially applied for redress following the collision on the start line on 22 November.
The team will join the rest of the ten-strong fleet in the Southern Ocean. The leading boats are expected to arrive in Geraldton, Western Australia, between 14 and 18 December; Cork and Hull & Humber are expected to arrive before Christmas Day.