One of the supermaxis vying for line honours in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, Anthony Bell’s Perpetual Loyal, has retired and is returning to her home club at Rose Bay in Sydney.
The crew believes the yacht may have hit something at about 9 pm last night (2100 AEDT), the hull started delaminating and the yacht took on water in the bow.
The crew is safe and expected to arrive at port in about 24 hours.
The extent of the damage will not be known until the yacht is out of the water. Understandably, the crew is “devastated”.
Perpetual Loyal advised the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia it was retiring with hull damage just after 0800 AEDT today when she was east of Eden.
Broken rudders, sail and hull damage rendered in a tough opening night’s southerly have forced eight yachts to retire in less than 20 hours of racing.
The retirees are Tina of Melbourne, Bear Necessity, Willyama, Last Tango, Occasional Coarse Language Too, Triton, and Brindabella and Perpetual Loyal.
By Danielle McKay, RSHYR media
