Green Dragon in the shed in Qingdao. Image copyright Rick Tomlinson/Volvo Ocean Race.
by Riath Al-Samarrai
Johnny Smullen insists his Green Dragon shore crew will do 'whatever it takes' to ensure their wounded yacht is ready for the Qingdao in-port race.
The Irish-Chinese boat arrived in the country of its birth on Saturday with a variety of scars, a hefty job list and just seven days until the February 7 race around the cans.
It's a tall order, but Smullen, the shore manager, is adamant it will be achieved. "Whatever it takes, we'll be on the start-line for the in-port," he said. "We're going to work 18-hour to 20-hour days to get it done, but we'll get it done."
Builders repair the bow ring frame on Green Dragon. Image copyright Rick Tomlinson/Volvo Ocean Race.
A key area of focus has been the boat's forward ring frame, which broke in storms on January 24 and forced Ian Walker's crew to suspend racing at Salomague Bay. They made a repair, but that failed a day later and another was concocted.
Smullen was impressed by the ingenuity of the repair, but took the extra step of building a new bulkhead 1,000 miles away and shipping it to Qingdao. It arrived Sunday - a day early - and is currently being fitted.
"They had done a good temporary repair to get the boat here, but it was better to cut it out and start fresh," Smullen said. "We have the new bulkhead and now it will be secondary bonded and there is some capping to go on. The whole bulkhead should be finished by this (Tuesday) evening. We will probably cook it Tuesday night and that will secure it."
Builders repair the bow ring frame on Green Dragon. Image copyright Rick Tomlinson/Volvo Ocean Race.
Work is also underway to fix a rudder which was mangled by a fishing net on the penultimate night of their trip. "The net cut about two-thirds of the way through but below where the structural stock is," Smullen said. "They sailed quite a few miles with a big piece of net attached.
"That got laminated today and is well on its way to being repaired and it will be painted tomorrow."
A new forestay has also arrived to replace the one which failed on day four to kick-started their bad luck. Smullen said: "We have some reasons why it broke but the manufacturers replaced it and re-engineered that a little bit.
"The mast (which would have been made vulnerable by the forestay failure) is fine. We are very lucky to have our mast still standing, but there is no delamination on the mast."
Elsewhere, a tap test of the hull found no signs of delamination on the skins, while an inspection of the keel pins threw up no unwanted surprises.
Green Dragon shore manager Johnny Smullen. Image copyright Rick Tomlinson/Volvo Ocean Race.
In all, Smullen hopes the list of big and little jobs will be completed in time to get the boat in the water on Thursday evening. He then hopes the team will be ready for the in-port race practice start on Friday afternoon.
"Everyone is working around the clock, but we are going to race in the in-port race for sure," he added. "All we are doing is working, eating and a little sleeping. It's all part of the Volvo show. It's a testament to the sailors for what they do out on the ocean and when they get here we do what we do. I'm pretty proud of my shore team."
Volvo Ocean Race
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