Dhe Swiss sailing team Holcim suffered a broken mast on the fourth stage of the Ocean Race. The crew with skipper Kevin Escoffier, Fabien Delahaye, Benjamin Schwartz, Annemieke Bes and onboard reporter Georgia Schofield are doing well, the team reported on Thursday. The incident happened around 7 a.m. German time, about 20 miles off the Brazilian coast.
At the time of the accident, the boat was in the lead. The Holcim crew abandoned the stage and are now on their way back to Itajai, where the fourth stage of the around-the-world regatta started last Sunday. It is still unclear to what extent the team can continue the race later on. “So life is. We are now working hard to be back in the race as soon as possible,” said Escoffier.
“That makes me very sad”
The Hamburg sailor Boris Herrmann now also wants to try to help the Escoffier team from afar. Herrmann is the skipper of Holcim’s competitor Malizia, but the 41-year-old sits out on the fourth Ocean Race stage to spend time with his family. “It was a big shock for us that Kevin lost the mast. That makes me very sad,” Herrmann told NDR: “We don’t want to see the favorites eliminated from the race in this way. All teams are helping with full solidarity to get Holcim back in the running. We, in particular, are now trying to step on the gas with our shipping contacts,” said Herrmann.
Berlin’s Robert Stanjek, who is currently sailing fourth with the Franco-German Guyot team, said he spoke briefly to Escoffier over the radio. “That was shocking news. Luckily no one is injured,” said Stanjek, expressing his condolences to the Holcim team: “Kevin and his crew sailed such a strong race. Of course we suffer with them. You don’t wish that on anyone.”
The fourth leg of the regatta leads from the Brazilian coastal town of Itajai over 5,500 nautical miles to Newport on the American east coast. From there it’s back to Europe on May 21st, where the final of the Ocean Race is scheduled for June in Genoa. German team Malizia, led by Britain’s Will Harris in Stage 4, is currently sailing in second place and could move further up the general standings with a win on the leg.
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