Ryan Breymaier, with co-skipper Boris Herrmann (Germany) aboard Team Neutrogena, rounded Cape Horn yesterday but encountered major problems during their approach to the Cape when the keel hydraulic system sustained almost complete failure earlier this week. It was the middle of the night and the auto-pilot was steering when the boat jumped a wave, which caused damage to the keel’s water valves.
“We tried to diagnose and repair the damage ourselves, but called our shore team and the manufacturer of the system when several hours of our efforts met with no success,” said Breymaier. “We ended up succeeding in fixing the problem, but are now reduced to nursing the boat home.”
Team Neutrogena still holds a solid fourth place in the rankings out of the 12 doublehanded teams remaining in the 25,000 nautical mile (46,300 km) race, which includes 2,000 hours of non-stop competition across three vast oceans, two hemispheres and around three famous Capes.
“Our stated objective has been to complete a non-stop circumnavigation, and with careful sailing we still believe this to be possible. We will continue on our way and unless the damage grows worse, we will see everyone in Barcelona at the finish line in a month,” said Breymaier.
