Brian Hancock's Great Circle Campaign to compete in the Around Alone 1998-99 solo race around the world came to an abrupt ending last week as the yacht made its acquaintance with a reef off the coast of Bermuda. At the time Hancock was taking action to avoid the wrath of hurricane Bonnie.
Hancock's Open 50 Class Racer got off the reef under its own power. However, the accident dashed any final chances Hancock had of starting in the Around Alone classic.
"I left Bermuda for a quick sail back to Marblehead keeping an eye south towards Hurricane Bonnie, hoping to keep ahead of the storm," reported skipper Brian Hancock. "When the Hurricane stalled I became concerned that its course might change and it would head north at speed. The only prudent thing to was to turn back for Bermuda where we could safely wait out the weather. Bonnie was not a storm to be reckoned with."
Hancock and his two-man delivery crew crew headed back to the island and in the late evening of Sunday, August 23 they struck the reef that dominates the western approaches to Bermuda.
"I did not have adequate charts for the area," Hancock said. "However I did have the coordinates of the lights that mark the outer edges of the reef. What I didn't know was that if you sail in a straight line from light to light, you do not clear the reef. In some places the reef sticks out further than the lights."
The yacht glanced the edge of the reef ripping a newly-added forward trim fin from the boat, leaving a gaping hole where it had been installed. Quick crew work, closing the watertight bulkhead and containing the water in the forepeak, averted a larger problem. With the water contained and the pumps running, Hancock and his crew were able to sail into Bermuda without an escort.
"My immediate thoughts were about the safety of the crew and saving the boat," Hancock recalled. "It then slowly dawned on me that there was no way I would be able to make the start of the Around Alone with the damage we had sustained."
Hauling the yacht in Bermuda revealed a hole where the fin had been, a scrape on the keel, and structural damage to the rudder. Hancock and his shore manager Brian Harris were able to repair the hole and patch the keel in Bermuda. The rudder they checked as baggage for the trip back to the US where it will be scrutinized, and repaired.
"This campaign is effectively over for me," reported Hancock upon his arrival back in the United States. "The yacht needs to be in Charleston by September 12 otherwise we will be assessed a time penalty. There is no way that we will be able to repair the rudder, refit it, and make the Charleston deadline. We still need to add the inboard engine, plus carry out a number of other jobs to ensure that the yacht meets race safety requirements. There is simply not enough time to do the work, and frankly not enough money to do it properly.
"My heart is broken and my stomach is in knots, however there are some simple realities to this campaign and it's time to face them. This was a hard decision to make, one that I think is harder to make than simply just carrying on hoping for the best. After all the time, effort, expense and energy that has gone into this campaign -- including trucking the yacht across Canada and the US is a severe ice storm this past winter, and sailing it across the Atlantic and back this summer -- it is a crushing blow to come to such an abrupt and unfortunate ending.
"The good news is that I always viewed this effort as 'only a yacht race', and have had fun getting to this point. I started with nothing, no boat, no money, nothing more than a dream. I now have a fantastic yacht, I have met some great people, have gained some wonderful supporters and most important, I've had fun. I am indeed very lucky."
Eternal optimism and an overdose of enthusiasm is a requirement for single-handed sailing, and Hancock has an overabundance of both. "This is not the end of my dream to sail around the world," he said. "There is the next Around Alone, as well as other yacht races. I have some plans up my sleeve for the boat and will make an announcement within a few days.
"In the meantime I want to offer my heartfelt gratitude to all those persons who have supported my effort, especially those who helped financially, but equally important, those who lent encouragement and moral support. I thank you all."
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