La Taberna del Puerto

[Ocell (3NY)]

During this afternoon we heard from various sources that Steve Fossett's maxi-catamaran Cheyenne, skippered by David Scully had dismasted while lying in second place in the Oryx Quest.

At the time the time the 125ft long maxi-catamaran was off the Argentinian coast having rounded Cape Horn at 07:46GMT on Tuesday morning.

No one was hurt in the incident which occurred at 1200GMT this morning around 200 miles north of the Falkland Islands. The dismasting happened when the mast buckled following the breakage of a lower shroud around one third of the way up from the deck.

The rig has now been cut away and there is no other obvious damage to the boat. The crew is currently awaiting a tow from the Argentinian navy to take them to Puerto Deseado some 141 miles to their WNW. The navy are not likely to reach them until 0200 tomorrow morning.

Owing to the sea conditions which David Scully described in a phone call to race head quarters as "moderate", it is likely the navy will stand off until first light when they will be able to affect a safe rescue. Cheyenne will then be towed to the nearest port which will take another 24 hours minimum.

"This is of course a huge disappointment for the crew who have put so much time and effort to race competitive around the world. I feel badly for them but I am happy there were no injuries," commented Cheyenne's owner Steve Fossett.

Speaking from Australia, Tracy Edwards CEO of Quest International, the organisers of Oryx Quest 2005 said "I can't believe this has happened. We are so disappointed for David and his crew who have put so much effort into this race and were making such a concerted push to catch the leaders. The important thing is that nobody was hurt and everyone is in good spirits. My thoughts are with them."

Owing to the severity of the damage, Cheyenne has now officially withdrawn from the race.

And then there were two...
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