SPIRIT OF CANADA UPDATE
30th March 2003

There is a big week ahead for Derek Hatfield on Spirit of Canada. Not that the last three weeks since his disastrous capsize off Cape Horn have not been big, but Derek and his team are now coming down to the final push. And push they are. The new mast was due to arrive in Ushuaia on Saturday and the new sails, if they make it through customs, should arrive on Monday. The sailmaker from Canada is hand-carrying the 70 kg package as checked baggage hoping that the eagle-eye Customs man in Buenos Aries will not notice. Actually there should not be any problem getting the sails through customs, they are afterall goods-in-transit, but South America dances to it’s own drum and Mr. Customs man may turn a blind eye, or he may be looking to bolster his retirement fund. You never know.

Last week when some of the electronics were being hand-carried into Argentina as goods-in-transit, an $800 import fee was imposed. The luckless traveler was not moving from country to country with that kind of cash readily available, so Plan B had to be implemented. The company making the new mast was fortunately located in Buenos Aries and they sent a courier with a check, but not until after flights had been missed and tempers frayed. Let’s hope the Canadian sailmaker has better luck.

It’s no small job to re-rig a boat, but if all goes well the mast and sails should be on board and in place by mid-week. Derek has already had the hydraulics from the keel removed and repaired and he reported that they are working fine. The stantions on deck have been repaired and the new Raymarine electronics are coming together. If everything goes well it should all come together by late in the day on Wednesday. Hatfield plans a short shake-down sail to check things out, and then it’s back to the business of racing. When Derek finally sets sail again from the southernmost city in the world, he will have accomplished something that three weeks ago was beyond his wildest dreams. Then his hopes were shattered. Now less than a month later he will be back in the race heading for Salvador and the end of Leg 4.

--- Brian Hancock great.circle@verizon.net

Source: Around Alone Official Site