The crew of a round-the-world racing yacht that ran aground on an Indian Ocean reef are heading for Mauritius where they will start making plans to salvage their boat.
Team Vestas Wind setting off last month at the start of the Volvo Ocean Race. Photo: AFP
The Volvo Ocean Race crew onboard Danish entry Team Vestas Wind were forced to abandon their boat on Sunday after it was badly damaged when it grounded on a reef during a tropical cyclone.
Team Vestas Wind, whose crew includes New Zealanders Tony Rae and Rob Salthouse, was running in fourth place in the leg between Cape Town and Abu Dhabi when the collision happened, 430 km to the north-east of Mauritius.
Race director for the Volvo Ocean Race, Jack Lloyd, told Morning Report the crew were on board a supply ship heading to Mauritius, where they will join their shore boss, Neil Cox.
"The team have been out there today while they've been waiting for the ship again, taking (off) whatever they can - the fuel, the batteries, all the broken bits and pieces, all their equipment, food, their electrical equipment - so if it does break up before we can salvage it there's not too much debris on the reef and in the surrounding waters."
He said the yacht had to be removed from the reef where it foundered and plans were underway for that.