On Saturday, November 29, Team Vestas Wind's boat grounded on the Cargados Carajos Shoals, Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean. Fortunately, no one has been injured. WAG 03Dec14 - RUN AGROUND: Team Ve
On Saturday, November 29, Team Vestas Wind's boat grounded on the Cargados Carajos Shoals, Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean. Fortunately, no one has been injured. WAG 03Dec14 - RUN AGROUND: Team Ve
Team Vestas Wind, the boat stranded in the Indian Ocean during the Volvo Ocean race, has finally been retrieved from a remote reef.
The boat, skippered by Australian Chris Nicholson, had been dramatically grounded after ploughing into the reef on November 29.
Nicholson and his nine-strong crew were effectively waitingfor two days on a remote "sand pit" in an area known for shark attacks. They were eventually rescued.
More than three weeks later the boat itself has been salvaged and is heading on a round-trip back to Europe.
Race officials said the boat was gingerly floated clear of the reef in St Brandon yesterday evening to a nearby lagoon.
From there it was lifted on to a waiting ship to complete the delicate first stage of an operation, which could yet see the boat being reconstructed.
The shore manager of Team Vestas Wind, Neil Cox, and Nicholson oversaw the process of extracting the boat. Cox held out hope that the boat could be rebuilt.
The nine-month offshore marathon race finishes on June 27 in Gothenburg, Sweden.
