The team first reported damage onboard on Tuesday. As Kenny wrote; "the proverbial you know what hit the fan." After crashing down on a wave the spinnaker was in pieces. About an hour later, the boat was launched off another wave, coming down with a crash that caused cracks in the longitudinal frames of the bow area. Thanks to Justin Ferris the spinnaker was quickly mended. Casey Smith and Michi Mueller meanwhile set about fixing the bow.
Just when Kenny and the crew thought they gotten through the worst and things were back on track, there was another wave, followed by another, far bigger, crack. While hoping for the best, Justin Ferris pointed out a large crack down the main longitudinal frame. Essentially, the boat's backbone had been broken, a serious issue, so the crew had to slow the boat down, to stay safe and prevent further damage.
But that was two days ago. There has been a massive crew effort to get the boat fixed so that they can get back into racing mode and continue on to Cochin as fast as possible. Spirts are high and the boat is moving again. PUMA passed through the scoring gate in 7th place early this morning. Kenny and the crew are now tied for second place overall with the Chinsese/Irish team, Green Dragon. There is still just under 3,000 miles to Cochin. Still plenty of time for everything and anything to change, and plenty of points to be scored.
