CAMPER's pit stop progressing well

CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand’s pit stop in Puerto Montt is progressing well with a round-the-clock effort by the shore team ensuring that the repair job is running ahead of schedule.

In the just over 24 hours since CAMPER docked, the shore crew have worked non-stop carrying out a full ultra sound survey of the boat, removing all the damaged sections and cleaning and preparing the affected areas.. They are are now working on fitting the replacement bulkhead and longitudinals and bonding them to the hull.

The ultrasound survey revealed no further major issues and this has allowed the shore crew to focus on repairing the damaged bow area.

The team remain confident that they will be able to resume racing over the weekend with the latest estimate having CAMPER departing Puerto Montt on Sunday morning (8 April) NZT.

CAMPER skipper Chris Nicholson says that it has been a stand out effort by the shore crew.

“They’re a brilliant shore crew and it’s moments like these that you see how good they are.

“You just watch what happens over the days ahead and how we get this show back on the road. This is an incredibly resilient team and we’re determined to get racing again.”

Shore Manager Neil Cox says that the repair work is going better than expected.

“Progress has been exceptional to date and we’re actually well ahead of where we wanted to be at this stage. The boat was in better shape than what we thought it might be and there’s been no nasty surprises.

“There’s been a lot of sleepless nights worrying about the state of the boat, so it’s a relief to have them in port and be able to get into things.

“It has been a massive 24 hours and the guys have worked non-stop since the boat arrived. Things are coming together nicely though and we’re looking good for getting them out of here before the weekend is out.”

Pictures of CAMPER, video footage and audio files  are available upon request. Further information and race updates will be available on our blog   and on our Facebook page

The latest video from on board CAMPER is here