| MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA-(25-1-2006) Following their dismasting at 0630GMT on 18 January, Brasil 1 created a jury rig and has been motoring and sailing towards Fremantle in Western Australia so that they can take the boat from the water and then truck it 1,600 miles across the Nullabor Plain on the Eyre Highway to Melbourne.
During the early hours of this Monday 23 January, Brasil 1 met up with the Ocean Wild II, the fishing boat that has been hired by the team to escort the Brazilians to the city of Fremantle, on the west coast of Australia.
The possibility of getting towed in has been dismissed by the Brasil 1 crew, at least for now. “We talked about the technical aspects of getting towed and we decided to just take the fuel and the escort. Towing a sailboat can be dangerous, especially if the winds pick up, and the difference in speed would be minimal,” explained Dutch navigator Marcel van Triest.
The first refueling has already taken place. Two hundred liters of diesel fuel were transferred to the tanks of the yellow and blue sailboat and it will be rrefuelled twice more for a total of 600 litres, which will allow Torben Grael and his crew to reach land under their own power.
The Brazilian boat is currently just over 500 nautical miles from Fremantle. “This is not a small distance, but the crew onboard is more than pleased. We are going somewhat against the wind and we can’t use our “lucky sail” (the emergency mast), so we are not going too fast, only 7.5 knots. When we can follow a direct course to our destination we expect to be able to use the sail again and improve our speed up to tenknots. Our forecast is still to arrive on Thursday in the evening. This is very important to our future,” said skipper Grael
The crew also celebrated their gift of fresh fish from the Ocean Wild II. The skipper of the fishing boat, New Zealander Louis, sent a large chunk of swordfish to Brasil 1, with some oranges, eggs and soft drinks. “First we ate some fish in sashimi-style (thin raw slices). Then, Marcelo fired up the grill and we had some more grilled fish, absolutely delicious. The “Gordo” (fat guy) really knows his way around food,” praised Grael. “It’s wonderful to be able to change our menu and have some fresh food again
The two boats are keeping a wary eye on Tropical Storm Daryl which was recently downgraded to a category three storm, but could still batter the already beset Brasil 1 with a gale as they make their way towards safety.
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