'All hands on deck!' Video captures dramatic moment China's Volvo Ocean Race hopes almost sank
Chinese yacht’s push to win third leg of sailing’s most prestigious round-the-world race is briefly interrupted when tack line snaps
Chinese leg three leaders Dongfeng Race Team were given a big wake-up call in the Volvo Ocean Race on Thursday when an equipment failure threatened to cost them their advantage.
Victory in the destination port of Sanya, Hainan Island, on the southernmost tip of China would give the team the outright lead and make race history as the first Chinese boat to win a leg in the 41-year-old event, offshore sailing’s most prestigious round-the-world race.
However, their apparent cruise to the win was rudely interrupted early on Thursday when a tack line on the J1, which is used for sailing upwind, snapped and ruled out the use of the vital sail.
WATCH: Dongfeng's crew scramble to save the sail
I hate having problems on the boat – but in a way I’m happy this might have woken everyone up to the fact that we are a very long way from winning this leg
The crew scrambled to repair the line and within a half hour, a makeshift repair had restored the sail for use in the South China Sea.