NEWS

Vestas team will miss stage 6 of Volvo Ocean Race

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Team Vestas 11th Hour Racing has announced that it will have to miss Round 6 of the 2017/18 Volvo Ocean Race due to severe damage to the boat after a collision with a fishing boat. The team hopes to complete the repairs in time for the next race, which starts in Auckland on March 18.

After assessing the extent of the damage, the US-Danish team realized that they would not be able to rebuild the boat in Hong Kong. The mutilated boat was then shipped to New Zealand by freighter. The new bow section should be arriving there shortly from Persico Marine 's factory in Italy.

If the team can get the boat ready in time for stage 7, they will have a chance of catching up with double victory points in the Pacific crossing.

The aftermath of the tragic disaster has already robbed the team of additional points in the three port races. While the blue and blue boat is being repaired, the regatta fleet has had time to race around Hong Kong Island in Kowloon Bay as well as in the waters of another Chinese city, Guangzhou.

The first and last race off the coast of China was won by Team MAPFRE, occupying the first line in the standings «In-Port Race». The second race was won by Akzonobel team.

The six VO 65s are now back in Hong Kong, preparing for the start of the 6th event with a 6,100 nautical mile start in Auckland. The start is scheduled for February 7 at 13:00 local time, although it is possible that the boats will leave port early in the morning to avoid encountering the strong winds that forecasters are promising.

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