11th Hour Racing Team he refuses to give The Ocean Race for loss. Despite the fact that the American boat has withdrawn from Stage 7 of The Ocean Race, unable to continue racing after its major collision with Guyot just 17 minutes after the start of the final stage in The Hague, it has stepped up repair work on the boat to, at least, be able to be in Gémova. Skipper Charlie Enright and his crew are working 24 hours a day to get their sailboat seaworthy to Italy.
After the accident, the 11th Hour Racing Team is doing everything in its power not to say goodbye to its title in The Ocean Race and that is has submitted a Request for Reparation to the World Sailing International Jury. This is a procedure under the Racing Rules of Sailing to compensate a boat when a boat’s score or place in a race or series has been or may be, through no fault of her own, significantly worsened. “We are working day and night to repair the ship as quickly as possible, and our intention is to sail to Genoa to join the fleet and complete this return to our blue planet. We are all obviously devastated, nobody wants to finish a race like this, but the spirits within the team are high, and we all want to finish this amazing race on a high note.”, commented an Enright who hopes the repair request will go through because withdrawing from the leg and requesting compensation gives the team the best chance, within the rules of the event, to secure the points it needs to win the overall race. .
While waiting, the work on the ground has no rest and everything started on Thursday night, the day of the incident, with the assessment of the damage and the start of the repairs. The goal is to sail to Genoa and participate in the Grand Final. Mark Towill, CEO of 11th Hour Racing Team, said: “The support from The Ocean Race community here in The Hague has been tremendous, and we have received messages from fans, partners and supporters around the world; it really has been overwhelming and felt by everyone here. We will continue to work 24/7 and we are doing everything possible to have the full boat and team in Genoa for the Grand Final.“.
11th Hour Racing took to the water on Thursday having won the last three stages of The Ocean Race and holding a two-point lead in the overall standings over Team Holcim-PRB, who currently leads the fleet, by ahead of Biotherm and Team Malizia, heading to Genoa on stage 7. The final classification of The Ocean Race depends on the balance between what happens on the water, where Team Holcim-PRB sails towards the Grand Final in Genoa, and out of the water, where there could be a possible award of points by the jury to the 11th Hour Racing Team as compensation. Every hour is crucial and the American boat awaits the decision of the World Sailing International Jury.