Green Dragon’s preparations for the second leg to Cochin were dealt a blow yesterday when they broke a spreader during a practice sail. The team were sailing upwind in 30 knots when the J4 lock strop broke and caused the head swivel on the sail to break away and come down, damaging the tip of the third starboard spreader in the process.
It is a recurrence of a problem that first occurred in Alicante – where the same mechanism that locks off the halyard also broke – and leaves skipper Ian Walker with just 32 hours to get ready for the start.
“It is better to have an issue here than a thousand miles out to sea. We tested other systems on board and I am pleased that we have no other problems. We are assessing the damage at the present time, but we see no reason why we would not be on the start line on Saturday. We may be able to fix the existing spreador, otherwise we have a spare spreader en route from Holland,” Says Ian Walker, Skipper of Green Dragon.

BREEZING TIME

The race to get ready is becoming  tight as strong winds continue to shake Cape Town. The breezes, consistently above 30 knots and gusting up to 60 over the last three days, have temporarily halted the stepping of masts and the hauling of boats into the water.
PUMA Ocean Racing and Green Dragon both beat the rush by floating their boats on Monday morning, but the other six yachts are frantically monitoring the weather and co-ordinating cranes.
Yesterday morning, both Ericsson boats had yet to step their masts or go into the water. But near noon, Ericsson 4 was lifted in, and then had its mast stepped, despite the strong winds. Ericsson 3 is scheduled for the same treatment this afternoon.
“Everything has been delayed because of this wind,” said Ericsson Racing Team shore manager Herve LeQuillec. “It is all a rush, but the wind has not allowed us time.” The Telefonica twins, which both had their masts fitted two days ago, are also currently in the process of being lowered into the water.