Failure in autopilot: Robin Knox returns

5 OCEANS had not been fulfilled nor 24 hours of the second stage of the VELUX when Sir Robin Knox-Johnston was forced to return to the port of Fremantle in its Open 60 SAGA INSURANCE. After yesterday to the 15:00 hours (07: 00 Spanish hour) would struggle in the line of exit with the effective champion Bernard Stamm, Sir Robin went to the west with the rest of the fleet course Cabo Leewin. Nevertheless, during the night they both failed systems to him of the autopilot of the Insurance Saga and it could not reinitiate them.

After spending several hours to this misfortune, the mythical English sailor made the difficult decision to return to Fremantle, where he waited for his ground equipment to him. Sir Robin will have to confront a penalty of 48 hours to receive external aid. After having been all night maneuvering to take his boat to port, the British sailor is tired and downcast.

When arriving at the Fremantle sailing Club, Sir Robin commented: “To 3 of dawn (20: 00 hours in Spain of Sunday 14 of January) when they began to fail the autopilots by fourth and fifth time I thought: what madness, thus I cannot continue! When I met with my team one of the experts immediately realized of which it was a problem of the generator. I asked to him if it could fix it and it has said to me that yes. The one is a small cable that is causing all the problems and is necessary to replace it. She is one suffers because we have worked very it last in the boat during these days.”

Sir Robin was with its equipment after surrounding the island by Rottnest, to ten miles of Fremantle. Officially Knox-Johnston left the competition to eight in the morning of Monday 15 of January and therefore, will be able in the morning to reinitiate its contest in the Regata in the same point to 8 of Wednesday 17 of January, after realizing all the necessary repairs on board the Insurance Saga.  

As far as the other participants, Bernard Stamm stays in head, taking an advantage of 30 miles on the Japanese Kojiro Shiraishi. Graham Dalton is in third position, to only one mile behind the Japanese. On the other hand, the Basque landlord Unai Basurko, classified quarter, are a distance of the leader of 76 miles, and have made the decision to go more - to difference of its rivals to the West.