Southern Ocean Scavenging–“Find Me Bolts, Any Bolts”: More woe for Cheyenne, thanks to more bad mast track. Here’s Steve Fossett:

“Now it is the mast track at the top that has ripped off. We are baffled that this has occurred in mild conditions – without any significant shock loading or sailing error. We are limited to a one reefed mainsail until the repair can be effected. We are running out of spare mast parts and are scavenging bolts from winch bases and other rigging locations. Right now we just want to get sailing. The repair will be attempted at the next slowdown beyond the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. It is demoralizing that there is one breakage after another.

Meanwhile we have been stuck in the center of the Low with light winds and we reflect with envy on the 600 mile days Orange was able score on the way to the Horn. Our lead has shrunk from a maximum of 4 1/2 days to 3 and continues to shrink. The lost time on repairs and a poor weather pattern forecast for the South Atlantic means we are going to be hard pressed to maintain any lead at all by the time we reach the Equator.”

The crew is confident they can repair this mast track section too, once they round Cape Horn, which is expected later today (to read a detailed report from Dave Scully on what it took to fix the first broken track section click here and go through to the archives). To do it, though, they are having to scavenge spare bolts from winch bases and any other location that can sacrifice a bolt or two (this is reminiscent of Club Med’s experience in The Race, where the crew was forced to scavenge so many bolts for repairs they were even removing them from the engine room fans). In the meantime the wounded cat is slinking along at submaximal speed, with a mainsail that can hoist only as high as the first reef. Along with the light winds they have been stuck in, the lead over Orange 2002 will continue to shrink. Even if they can keep Cheyenne together for another tough 7,000 miles, it’s going to be a very, very close race to beat the record. Even more worrisome for Fossett and his beleaguered team, Geronimo is matching mile for mile their blazing speed across the Indian Ocean. De Kersauson and his crew just put up a 520 mile day, gybing through a zone of icebergs with their hearts in their mouths…



Cheyenne Slowed: “These damn things are spending more time on the net than up the mast…”

(Photo: Nick Leggatt)