Clipper 09- 10 - Cork repaired and back in the race

11:34 PM Thu 26 Nov 2009 GMT

'With repairs complete after their collision with Hull & Humber Cork begin their delayed race 4 to Geraldton.' Clipper Ventures PLC &copy

The Irish entry in the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race has set sail from Cape Town following the start day crash that forced her to return to port for repairs. Cork, Ireland has been back in port since Sunday afternoon and a team of boat builders has been working around the clock to get her ready to resume the race to Geraldton, Western Australia.

This lunchtime the marine surveyor pronounced her fit to leave and the crew, who had gathered at the yacht club this morning made their final preparations for the 4,700-mile race that will take them into the Southern Ocean along the Great Circle route to Geraldton, Western Australia.

Cork's delayed departure follows a collision on the start line on Sunday afternoon when she slammed into Hull & Humber's port side, causing both teams to return to harbour for repairs. Teams of boat builders from Action Yachting at Royal Cape Yacht Club have been working on the bow of the boat which was damaged in the crash. At 1834 local time (1634 GMT) the yacht slipped her lines, the repairs complete a day earlier than predicted.

Cork's skipper, Richie Fearon, was keen to get going again. 'I'm glad we're getting away. I'm a bit upset for Hull & Humber that they won't be coming with us. It'll be good maybe to get away and get a bit of distance between us and Cape Town to put this incident behind us and move forward from that.

'The crew are great and they've been looking after me - I've been pretty down about it but they've looked after me well, so it will be good to get back out on the water and do what we do best.'

Management of the boat was handed over to Richie and his crew after the surveyor had given the green light and the finishing touches are being put to preparations to leave. Eight of the ten-strong fleet of 68-foot ocean racing yachts have been racing for four days and are already eating up the miles. The tail enders are a little more than 500 miles ahead of Cork and are providing a ready target for the Irish crew.

'We'll certainly be trying to catch them,' says Richie. 'It's why we came here to the Southern Ocean and we'll have a good run at it. I don't think it's going to change the way we sail the boat because as a team we've got to keep the pressure on, keep learning. That's what we're here to do, we're out here to learn every day. So we won't be changing how we sail at all. The only difference is we're going to be in a different pressure system because we've got two lows coming across. We'll have a good bit of wind to start the week and we should be able to close the gap on them. It would be nice to pass one or two!'

Race Director, Joff Bailey, said, 'I'm really pleased we managed to get the repairs completed so quickly and we've been able to get them out racing again. The Race Committee has some decisions to make in the next couple of weeks with regard to the incident on Sunday, but for now we'll be focussing on getting Hull & Humber's repairs completed so they can start racing as soon as possible.'

Hull & Humber's repairs will take a little longer and the English boat is forecast to leave Royal Cape Yacht Club next Tuesday.

Richie says, 'It's unfortunate Hull & Humber won't be coming with us but we're taking a couple of their crew members who need to be there to meet their family to get them to Geraldton in time for their Christmas holidays.'

Having been given the option race with their competitors Victoria Strecker and Charlie Mulliner will become members of Cork's crew for this race only and for 21-year-old student, Charlie, it was a really hard decision to make.

'I've got nine of my family coming out to see me in Australia so it's the difference between them seeing me and not. It's one of those decisions that I've had to make but I feel absolutely gutted that I've had to get off Hull & Humber and it's horrible having to leave our team when we're just so close knit. But the guys on Cork have been really welcoming and it's going to be an amazing leg anyway. I'm very excited about it; it's one of the things I've been looking forward to sailing around the world, so to be finally doing it after all this time will be absolutely incredible.'

Round the world crew member on Cork, Michael Lewis, 30, an engineer from Dublin, is also looking forward to racing across the Southern Ocean.

'I'm really looking foward to it. The Southern Ocean's always been one of the highlights of the race for me so it's going to be great to get out there, get the boat moving and do what we're here to do really and get racing again. We just want to get to Australia as quickly as possible and we'll see how it goes. We're a long way behind but we're looking forward to getting across the ocean as quick as we can.'

The Clipper Race is the only race in the world where the crews come from all walks of life, all ages and with all levels of experience. Prior to their training, some 40 percent of the crews had never stepped aboard a sailing yacht before. Clipper 09-10 started on the Humber on the east coast of the UK in September 2009 and the ten yachts and their crews will return there on 17 July 2010.

Each Clipper yacht is entered by a city, region or country and sponsors use the event to showcase themselves to the world. On the last running of the Clipper Race, more than 212 million people worldwide followed the adventure through television, print media, radio and online.

Cork is funded by F?ilte Ireland, Cork City Council and Cork County Council with the main objective of promoting Cork as a tourism and business destination around the world. Working alongside Tourism Ireland, Cork will be promoted to consumers, trade and the media in key markets that the race visits. The culmination of the project will be the arrival of the Clipper fleet in Kinsale in July 2010 for eight days of festivities which will showcase Ireland to a global market.

The fleet is expected to arrive in Geraldton, Western Australia for the next stopover between 14 and 18 December.

Repairs begin on the damage to Hull & Humber after a collision with Cork at the start of race 4 of the Clipper Race 09-10 from Cape Town, South Africa to Geraldton, Western Australia. - Clipper Ventures PLC &copy

by Heather Ewing