Scare for Hong Kong boat Scallywag after hitting rocks in dash to finish in first leg of Volvo Ocean Race
American team Vestas stun favourites Mapfre and Dongfeng while David Witt’s Scallywag runs aground in Lisbon
Hong Kong boat Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag ran aground before the crew staged a dramatic rescue in an exciting dash to the finish of the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race in Lisbon.
After more than 1,450 nautical miles from the start in Alicante, Spain, skipper David Witt’s yacht attempted to pass AkzoNobel near the finish in the River Tagus by sailing closer to the coast.
But the plan backfired and Scallywag had to kedge after running aground, with navigator Steve Hayles hit by the boom. It is not yet known whether he was injured.
Scallywag eventually finished fifth in the seven-yacht fleet, with American-Danish yachting team Vestas taking the stage on Saturday 10 nautical miles ahead of Spanish craft Mapfre and 20 nautical miles ahead of China’s Dongfeng.
“I’ve never finished like that before,” Witt said. “We tried to get AkzoNobel by coming down the shore there, went in pretty close and then we got stuck on the bottom.
“Parko [Luke Parkinson] and Alex [Gough] had to swim out into the channel with the anchor to get us off the bottom, so we could the drop our sails and drift across the finish line.