Mast track problem adds to pressure on Dongfeng in Volvo Ocean Race
by Dongfeng Race Team 27 Nov 2014 07:33 GMT
27 November 2014
Bowman, Kevin Escoffier, climbs the mast to execute the temporary repair on Dongfeng Race Team during Volvo Ocean Race leg 2 © Yann Riou / Dongfeng Race Team
Whilst the pressure of super close racing continues onboard Dongfeng in the second leg of the Volvo Ocean Race, a technical problem on the mast of the Chinese entry has added to the stress for Charles Caudrelier and his crew. The problem is not fully repairable in the current upwind and bumpy conditions, and is certainly an issue of concern for the team. However until they need to reef the mainsail (move the mainsail up or down the mast), it should not effect short term performance.
The metal mast track, on which the mainsail slides up and down the mast, has peeled away from the mast over a one metre section just under half way up the mast. There is the risk of this section of mast track pulling off completely or being damaged if loaded up at the wrong time. That would be the end of Dongfeng's hopes of a good result on this leg of the race, and a long slow journey to Abu Dhabi. As a temporary repair, Donfeng's bowman Kevin Escoffier has fitted some straps, tightened with ratchets, to try to hold the area of the mast track that has come away on to the mast as tightly as possible. The sliders (called cars) that attach the mainsail to the track must move past both the damaged area, and these straps, each time the mainsail is reefed (ie increasing or decreasing the size of the mainsail, according to the wind strength – a vital action for both performance and safety as the conditions change). Therefore the straps must be taken off each time this happens. This will require some earlier anticipation and preparation time for a reef which is not always easy to have in unstable conditions. This will also mean sending someone up the mast each time to take the straps off, wait while the reef is put in or taken out, then reattach again before the boat is fully powered up and the pressure comes back on the mast track.
The team hope that conditions will become calm enough tomorrow at first light to consider effecting a more practical temporary repair, attempting to re-bond the track to the mast.
Kevin after returning from phase 1 repair up the mast, and as ever with some humour "the next phase is to go back up the mast tomorrow when it should be calmer and bond [the track] back to the mast... or we don't take a reef before Abu Dhabi!!!"
With relatively stable wind strength at the moment, this should hopefully not affect Dongfeng's pace in the short term as they might not need to change the mainsail configuration too much. However it is clearly a constraint that in such very tight racing, might have an effect during the rest of this leg until a full repair and re-glue can be done. Certainly a problem the team could have done without – but not a problem that the determined men of Dongfeng will let diminish their ambitions for leg 2 of this extraordinary ocean racing competition. Its a mechanical sport, and the boats are pushed hard – its no surprise to have such challenges thrown at the team, and other boats are undoubtedly managing other issues, whether they choose to communicate or not about them. We chose to share our moment of stress with you!