Foto copyright Ganfungo
Foto copyright Bernard Gergaud
Tremendo golpe el que recibio el barco de Alex Thompson entrando a la madrugada a Les Sables Dólonne en Francia. Aparentemente el pesquero se lo llevó pueso cuando ellos estaban esperando a baja velocidad y con la mayor izada un cambio de tripulación.
No esta muy clara la situación todavía pero lo cierto es que el inglés lo tiene complicado para llegar a tiempo a la largada de la vuelta al mundo en solitario.
Estas son algunas de las preguntas y respuestas en la conferencia de prensa que dió Alex despues del incidente
Q: How many crew were on board?
A: We were 3 on board, 2 were sleeping, one on watch
Q: Do you have anti collision radars?
A: We do, we have everything
Q: If the radar was on, or the crew member was on watch, how did they not see the fishing boat coming?
A: The fishing boat’s radar was also on. When it happened, it happened very quickly and the guy on watch tried to get the engine started but it didn’t happen in time.
Q: Was he inside or out?
A: He was outside
Q: And he didn’t see the boat?
A: Some fishing boats are with lights, some without, and they go fast, I wasn’t on deck so I didn’t see what happened.
Q: Where exactly was the boat?
A: We were about 1.5 miles outside of the channel.
Q: What did the fisherman say?
A: I think his first concern was to make sure that everybody was ok.
Q: No explanations?
A: He said he didn’t see us.
Q: In terms of manpower, what do you expect?
A: I’m very fortunate, I have a very good team of people, including our designer, so I think the manpower is not a problem.
Q: How many people do you think it will take to repair the damage?
A: Until they decide what the repair is I can’t say.
Q: Was the boat is hit under the waterline?
A: No, it’s very close.
Q: Were you waiting for the tide?
A: We were waiting for a change of crew.
Q: Do you think that the watch on board Hugo Boss could be to blame?
A: I don’t consider us to be in blame, no
Q: Can we go over what happened last night to HUGO BOSS?
A: We were just outside the port of Sables d’Olonne, and at about 3 in the morning, lights on, everything on, a fishing boat plowed straight into us, making a big hole and breaking the mast. After the fishing boat made sure we were ok, we had to cut the mast.The boat has a big hole, it’s in bad shape, and we’re not sure how much needs to be going into it, we have construction engineers and designers looking into the quickest and most effective ways to repair the damage. At the moment the mast is being collected at sea, and we have the pieces so we’ll see if it’s able to be repaired, otherwise Dominique Wavre has offered us a mast.I’m devastated, we’ve spent 4 years preparing for the race, 4 years ago I stopped, so we spent many years getting ready, to not be even at the race village is hard. For the moment, the intention is definitely to be at the start on November the 9th, if no one tells us it’s impossible, then it’s possible, and so many people have offered us support, so we’re lucky. -
http://www.alexthomsonracing.com/
