Update 2 - Racing Resumes After Mainsail Repair

Embrace The Challenge is back racing at full speed in The Ocean Race Atlantic after the team completed a seven-hour repair to a 3-metre tear in the mainsail.

On the evening of 5 September, the team was racing in strong winds with two reefs already in the mainsail. As wind speeds increased to 40 knots, they made the decision to put in a third reef, further reducing the mainsail area to de-power the boat.

During the manoeuvre, the mainsail tore just inside the leech line (the rear of the sail).

Working against the fading hours of daylight and stormy conditions, the crew lowered and secured the damaged sail before retreating to the safety and shelter of the cockpit. Skipper Ollie Heer led a team discussion, but there was little they could safely do until daylight.

The setback was a bitter disappointment. After slowing the boat overnight, however, the team went back on deck at first light to assess the full extent of the damage. The tear was significant, but they determined that it could be repaired with the skills and spares that they had onboard.

“It’s not the Sunday morning that we wanted, but here we are at first light making the repair to our sail,” said Ollie. “Stuff like this happens on a boat. Initially, it was a massive shock. I couldn’t help but feel a bit angry with myself that I had allowed it to happen.

“But then you get over that shock and make a plan for how to attack it. We now have a plan. Now the negativity is gone and we have our objective which is to get this sail back up and get going again.”

With only enough repair material onboard for one attempt, there was no margin for error. Ollie and Liz Wardley developed a plan to stitch the torn edges together before bonding an additional patch over the damaged area.

“We’ve only got enough material for one hit at this,” Liz explained. “We’re going to prepare it with acetone, make sure it is really clean and use Sikaflex so that it adheres properly. I’m going to be in this boom bag all day, I reckon!”

Liz, one of the world’s most experienced Ocean Race sailors, spent around seven hours carefully completing the repair. The team then had to balance its desire to resume racing as quickly as possible with allowing sufficient time for the adhesive to cure and the patches to hold.

At around 14:30 UTC, they were satisfied that the mainsail was ready. They hoisted it and returned to racing.

“Overnight, we had to slow down, but today we started the repair as early as we could,” said Ollie. “It is so much easier, and such a privilege, to sail with other people who have complementary skills. Not everything is a burden on you; people step in and support you. As a team, you get through these challenges, and it is a pleasure to be able to do that.”

Now Embrace The Challenge is moving at full speed once again. The crew will continue to monitor the repair and manage the load on the sail for the remainder of the race.

“We still need to be careful with our mainsail,” Ollie added, “so we are looking for a nice fast route to the finish in Lorient that doesn’t put too much pressure on it.”

With the repair complete, the team’s response, from absorbing the initial disappointment, working together and focusing on what they could change was Embrace The Challenge in action.