| AUSTRALIA, BASS STRAIT 04:56 AM-(28-12-2003) The maxi yacht Nicorette is heading for Eden on the New South Wales South Coast after suffering damage to her new canting keel supporting structure and, subsequently, to the adjacent part of the carbon fibre hull in rough seas in Bass Strait last night. Owner/skipper Ludde Ingvall advised the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race race committee just after midnight that the 80-footer had firstly broken its canard keel at 8.25pm and then, about 11.30pm the welds on supporting struts either side of the canting keel had cracked. The crew had also noticed that some non-structural carbon fibre inside the hull had been torn, damage which, while not serious, could have worsened as the big yacht pounded to windward. Ingvall said that having regard to the expected continuing rough conditions for the remainder of the Bass Strait crossing, he considered it prudent seamanship to turn around and head back to Eden. Nicorette, which was in fourth place in the fleet when she retired, underwent major modifications before the 628 nautical mile ocean classic, being fitted with a triple foil system that included the canting (swinging) keel, the canard rudder (a retractable centreboard forward of the main keel) and trim tabs to the rudder. Meanwhile, the maxi match race continues between fleet leaders, Skandia, Grant Wharington’s 98-footer and the similar sized Zana, skippered by New Zealander Stewart Thwaites. At the 3am position report, Skandia was 21 nautical miles north of Eddystone Point on the north, less than two miles ahead of Zana, and about 200 miles from the finish at Hobart. Race Committee chairman Tim Cox estimated that the leading boat would cross the line off Hobart’s historic Battery Point between 8 and 10 o’clock tonight.
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