As Afloat.ie reported five days ago, Gregor McGuckin's Round the World Yacht is still drifting a month after evacuation in the Golden Globe Race. The Dubliner's yacht is not the only Golden Globe boat left adrift, and here's an update on what has happened to the yachts abandoned in the Indian Ocean.
Frenchman Loïc Lepage cut one of the inlet pipes to scuttle his dismasted Nicholson 32 Laaland before he abandoning her for the safety of the Japanese bulk carrier Shiosai on October 22 and the yacht’s tracking signal stopped within a few hours signalling that she had sunk
But Abhilash Tomy’s Thuriya and Hanley Energy Endurance skippered by Gregor McGuckin, both abandoned some 45 miles south of an International Marine Reserve surrounding the Amsterdam and St Paul chain of Islands on September 23 were left afloat. The battery running Thuriya’s tracker ran out of power on October 3, but that on Hanley Energy is still pinging away on the GGR tracker.
What state is she in? Could she be salvaged? Australian Mark Sinclair trailing in 7th place aboard his Lello 34 Coconut passed close to Amsterdam Island last Friday and is now within 180 miles of the Irish yacht. He has agreed to try and intercept her position during the next two days, photograph her and report back on her condition.
