Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Groupama 3 Salvage Operation Underway


A big salvage operation is underway off the North Otago coast, as the rescued French sailors try and recover their capsized racing yacht. They reached the wreckage on Wednesday morning in conditions described as ideal for the difficult job.
The sailors tried battling their upturned trimaran right before nightfall and luckily for them everything went well but very slowly.

"The weather is very fine and we are very lucky because there is no wind, it's sunny, and there is only very long swell," said Yves Parlier, the Groupama 3 navigator.
The wreckage from the yacht is drifting steadily north and its now about 150km off the Oamaru coast.
It's also spreading apart, with a piece of the hull floating 500 metres away. - http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/1592232