Green Dragon is craned back into the water in Rio. Image copyright Yongtao Jiang/Green Dragon Racing.
by Lucy Harwood
Just one day remains until the Rio de Janeiro In Port race this Saturday 4th April. Green Dragon has been back on dry land for less than a week and the shore team have been working around the clock often up to 18 hours a day in order to have the Dragon ready to go at the weekend. Work started on Saturday evening after Green Dragon crossed the finish line to secure fourth place on the 43 day epic leg from China.
The shore team work on the hull. Image copyright Yongtao Jiang/Green Dragon Racing.
The boat has been stripped and a full maintenance check carried out on all systems including the winches, the engines, and the electronics. Southern Spars have been on hand to perform a full mast check and a total of 13 crew have been involved turning the work around on the boat itself. After one of the longest legs in the history of the race, one of the biggest jobs on the list was to hand wash and fumigate down below, “Eleven guys living in such a small area 24/7 for over 5 weeks makes for some fairly interesting conditions down below!” commented shore manager Johnny Smullen. “We have been all over the hull interior, mechanics and engineering, the electronics and the mast have also had a full inspection, and I am pleased to report that everything is good. All foils have been re-faired and painted, and everything under the water prepped ready for the In Port race this weekend.”
Green Dragon is craned back into the water. Image copyright Yongtao Jiang/Green Dragon Racing.
The seven-boat fleet will take to the waters off Rio on Saturday for two scheduled In Port races. Green Dragon will be sailing with a new line up as crew members Justin Slattery and Phil Harmer remain at home on leave, as well as some regular faces returning to the team. Both Ian Moore and Anthony Merrington are back onboard after taking a break from Leg 5, Merrington is now fully recovered from the back injury he sustained on leg 4 and he will re-join the crew for the rest of the race. New crew members onboard Green Dragon for the In Port race include Johnny Mordaunt (Green Dragon shore team - mechanics and engineering), James Carroll (Green Dragon Boat Captain), America’s Cup grinder Julien Cressant, and Leg 5 crew member Chris Main will also remain onboard for the racing.
The Green Dragon crew prepare the boat for the In-Port race. Image copyright Yongtao Jiang/Green Dragon Racing.
Current forecasts show that the fleet will be expecting a 8 to 13 knot southerly breeze on Saturday. A maximum of four points are on offer for the winning team, both Delta Lloyd and Telefonica Black will be back in action after undergoing extensive repairs in Rio.
Green Dragon Racing
Volvo Ocean Race
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