Guernsey Press

Boat carrying Clipper race pair hit in dock

A BOAT taking part in a round-the-world yacht race with two islanders on board was hit by another yacht and taken out of the race.

Published
Last updated
Picture Supplied by Nigel Gale. 25-11-19 Nigel Gale is taking part in the Clipper round the world yacht race but the boat he is sailing on has been badly damaged when it collided with another vessel.. (26466651)

Nigel Gale and Anne Hough are taking part in the Clipper Round the World race which covers more than 40,000 nautical miles in a race against 10 other 70ft ocean-racing yachts.

They are on board the Punta del Este and had been successful in the first three legs of the race, coming first, sixth and second respectively.

However, upon leaving the dock from Cape Town, one of the other racing yachts misjudged their manoeuvre and turned into the Punta del Este, colliding into the side of it head-on.

‘I saw the other boat coming,’ Mr Gale said.

‘I was standing next to the skipper and said I thought they were going to hit us and the next second they did, T-boned right into the side of us.’

Pic by Adrian Miller 25-11-19.Nigel Gale, He's taking part in the round the world yacht race but his boat collided with another and is out of action while it is being repaired. He's taken the opportunity to pop home for a week.. (26466388)

Luckily, only some minor injuries were sustained but the boats had to return to a dry dock for 10 days of repair work.

‘We’d already been in Cape Town for a week before the start of that race so I decided to come home for a week before heading out there again to cross the southern sea,’ Mr Gale said.

Mrs Hough remained in Cape Town with her husband, who had been visiting.

Although the Punta del Este crew cannot take part in this race across the southern ocean, the Clipper committee has taken the average position of their last three races, 3rd, and the crew have been awarded that position.

Picture Supplied by Nigel Gale. 25-11-19 Nigel Gale is taking part in the Clipper round the world yacht race but the boat he is sailing on has been badly damaged when it collided with another vessel.. (26466653)

‘Once repairs are finished we have to make it across to the start of the next race in western Australia,’ Mr Gale explained.

‘It should take us about 21 days, which would give us one day’s rest before the next leg of the race.

‘The southern ocean can be a bit of a beast to cross so we might be pretty worn out by the time we get to Fremantle, Australia.

‘It’s in our best interest to get there as quickly as possible to give us some time to make any repairs and recover before the next stint to east Australia.’

The crews have completed nearly 11,000 miles already and are one-quarter of the way through the race.

‘There’s still a long, long way to go and the conditions are pretty relentless, but morale is good on board and we have a great crew, I am really enjoying it and can’t wait to get back out there,’ he said.

  • Keep up to date with the race here