UK yacht crew still waiting to set sail

Nov 26th, 2009
Four days after the other vessels managed to successfully set sail for Australia, both Cork and Hull & Humber remain on dry land after colliding at the beginning of the fourth leg of the Clipper Round-the-World yacht race.

The amateur crews from the UK and Ireland found the experience to be far removed from that expected on a luxury yacht charter after running into trouble as they left Cape Town, South Africa.

Work is underway to repair both boats and is said to be going on around the clock, but the eight other vessels now have a large head-start and expect to reach Australia between December 14th and 18th.

However, Hull & Humber could end up struggling to make it in time for Christmas, with work expected to be completed on December 1st.

"The crew are off for the week as we can't work on the boat due to the cutting, grinding, fairing, epoxying, glassing, filling, sanding, drilling and bolting which is about to start," explained skipper Piers Dudin.

However, he added that there is still hope of reaching Geraldton, Western Australia, by December 25th, while Cork should also manage it as the yacht is expected to set sail before Hull & Humber.

Those who fancy trying their hand at sailing could learn on a luxury private yacht charter in the Caribbean or Mediterranean.

Posted by George Clifford