Liz Wardley set out on Sunday to pave the way for the 2011 SolOceans race, a solo around the world race which will callect salinity and water temperature data to further the study of climate change. However, the following message was received this morning by Yvan Griboval (President of SailingOne), while she was at around 150 nautical miles South-West from Finistère (Brittany – France):
“It happened at around 0330 UT, I was sailing at 20 Knots with one reef in the main-sail and the staysail and a 25-Knot wind. I fell again from a wave much bigger than the other one and that's when we hit something with the hull bottom at the level of the cockpit behind the engine. I didn't see anything outside; I don't know what it was, maybe a cetacean or something soft floating in the water. I don't have a waterway, the structure of the boat looks intact, but I think the sandwich construction is starting to delaminate at the level of the bulkhead of the cockpit. I'm heading towards Brittany (France) that I should reach at around 1100 UT on 2 December. I hope to restart as soon as possible. Everything is fine on board; I've just had some chocolate cake offered by the triplets on Sunday before the start. It's good for the moral, I feel much better.”
We will bring you more news as soon as it is available.
