Making Repairs in Mindelo!
Repairs are underway and Peter should be back racing soon!
Two chunks on the leading edge of the rudder were repaired quickly
The port side rudder sheared off the boat but Peter was able to save everything and repairs are happening quickly.
What the boat looks like with both of the rudders attached! Photo was taken this late summer while still in France.
Port rudder repairs are under way!
I am very happy to report that Peter made it to Mindelo, Sao Vincente, Cape Verde Islands safely this morning.
I was able to talk to Peter on a borrowed phone this morning once he was towed to the dock. He is in good spirits and ready to get the repairs done and head back out racing. He explained what happened to me briefly on the phone call which I paraphrased below.
“I was cruising along averaging 11-13 knots and seeing boat speeds of 16 knots. I had a reef in the A3 spinnaker, two reefs in the main and was flying downwind, it was incredible. I was hand driving the boat to make sure the boat wouldn’t wipe out when suddenly I lost all steerage. I looked back and saw the entire port rudder being dragged by the boat, held to the boat by the rudder bar that is connected to the tiller. It all happened so quickly and I don’t know if I hit something or if the force of the speeds on the rudder, but all 8 bolts holding the two rudder gudgeons onto the boat sheared off completely. Thankfully I was able to recover the rudder, fully intact with minor damage to it. The gudgeons were still attached to the rudder. With the gudgeons sheared off the studs were still in the hull and no water came in the boat. I was lucky that the force of the rudder gudgeons shearing off didn’t rip a hole in the transom. So I have everything but new bolts to make the repair quick and pretty easy.”
What Peter didn’t know was that I have been working over the past 48 hours to make sure there was a team assembled and ready to help him with the repairs the moment he hit the dock. The sailing community is an incredible community to be apart of and when I put the call out to my different networks for any connections in the Cape Verde Islands; friends, friends of friends and total strangers stepped in to help. With help from all of them I was able to get in contact with one of the best repair guys in Mindelo and we talked through all the different possible repairs that may need to be done. He was up for the task and was on the dock to meet Peter this morning. And as I type this, they are almost complete with the repair of reattaching the rudder to the boat.
I had another friend in France who reached out to a Swiss sailor who is here in Mindelo and he also greeted Peter on the dock this morning and let Peter use his phone to call me. And another total stranger answered my call for help from Brazil with an offer to translate Portuguese and even found the contact for the marina owner and office manager in Mindelo and was in communication with them. To say that the people of Mindelo were prepared to welcome Peter is an understatement and the sailing community worldwide is amazing and resourceful!
Leg 2 Tracking Link
Even though the repairs are happening quickly, Peter is still required to stay put in Mindelo the minimum 12 hours on this stopover before he can depart again and resume racing. He will use this time to do a full check of the boat, making sure there was no other damage and maybe get some extra rest and definitely a good meal! He has not decided on his departure time yet but he still has a minimum of eight hours before he can leave to resume racing. Keep an eye on the tracker to follow him when he does resume racing!
Thank you for following along, Peter and I appreciate all of the support over these last three years. Without your help, he would not be able to make this dream a reality. Thank you!
Photo of Peter as he was towed in to the dock in Mindelo. Photo curtesy of our Swiss friend Alex
A screenshot of the facetime call between my new friend in Brazil and the marina office manager greeting Peter on the dock.
Make sure to check out all of the After Action Reviews and listen to Peter discuss this race on The Mini Transat Mission podcast! Click HERE to listen on Spotify.
Thank you to everyone who is following along and supporting this mission! We are grateful for the community that has rallied behind this campaign and I am proud to represent the USA and U.S. Patriot Sailing in this international race. We have reached the 52% goal for fundraising for the campaign but your donations to support this campaign are still needed, with changes in flights, logistics costs, and additional unplanned expenses that have added up quickly. Any support is greatly appreciated! Please click the Donate button below to support!
While we have some awesome sponsors, we still need your support to finish this mission. Every donation helps, THANK YOU!
If you are able to help, please consider donating through U.S. Patriot Sailing for a tax-deductible donation or through our GoFundMe page.
Learn More Here: www.pgnoceanracing.com/donate
I am racing in the Mini Transat as an ambassador for U.S. Patriot Sailing to raise awareness for this incredible non-profit team.
U.S. Patriot Sailing
Supports the veteran community navigate the hardships of transition to civilian life, rehabilitation after injury, and the complex life challenges associated with combat deployments. The organization accomplishes its mission by welcoming veterans back onto a winning team, provides camaraderie, a sense of mission accomplishment, and new dynamic experiences
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