Scallywag finally pulled up to the dock at the bustling Itajaí Race Village at mid-afternoon on Thursday, completing its delivery trip from the west coast of Chile.
The boat made landfall in Chile after retiring from Leg 7 following the death of crew member John Fisher who was lost overboard in the Southern Ocean, with a delivery crew taking on the task of getting the boat to Itajaí.
Now the team is in a race against time to be ready for the Leg 8 to Newport, Rhode Island on Sunday afternoon.
Neil Cox, the Head of the Boatyard, says he has his full team ready to work around the clock to get Scallywag on the start line, but he cautions that certain processes can’t be shortcut.
“We have the entire Boatyard workforce dedicated to working on that boat,” Cox said. “We’ve also kept suppliers on site to help us with certain tasks.
“Following the Southern Ocean legs, we’re giving the rigs a thorough check with the help of Southern Spars. Any carbon work that has to be done takes a certain amount of time to ‘cook’ and that process can’t be shortened.
“Our goal within the boatyard is to get through the mandated service work that each boat goes through in this stopover and to complete any other repairs within the time it takes to get the rig ready. If everything goes well, they’ll be on the start line on Sunday, but we are at the point now where every hour counts.”
For the Scallywag crew, the race against the clock has seen an outpouring of goodwill from their competitors who are lending a hand, where necessary, to help them get to the start.
Some of the other teams have offered to help us pull our mast out,” said sailor Trystan Seal. “So the support we’re getting is petty impressive. It’s a tight timeline for us to get to the start, but everyone is on our side and trying to help us as much as possible.”
“It’s amazing how much help we’ve been offered by the other teams,” said Annemeike Bes. “It’s a great feeling that so many people are supporting us.
“We’re in a race and we’re competitive and we all want to win, but at times like this it’s more like a family taking care of each other, and that’s awesome.”
Additional reporting: Volvo Ocean Race
Images: Jeremie Lecaudey/Volvo Ocean Race