Repaired Vestas rejoins round the world race

The round the world yacht involved in the fatal collision in Hong Kong has completed repairs in Auckland and is back in the water, ready to rejoin the action.

Vestas 11th Hour Racing will be sea-tested on Wednesday in the hope of starting Saturday’s in-port race in Auckland ahead of the March 19 departure for leg seven to Brazil.

The boat missed the last two legs after being shipped to Auckland, where a large section of its bow was replaced.

It collided with a fishing boat just before the finish of the leg to Hong Kong. A crew member on the fishing boat was killed.

‘‘It’s been an amazing effort by all involved to get the boat back in the water,’’ skipper Charlie Enright said.

‘‘We still have to haul it out, put it on its keel, put the rig in, put it through its paces. We’ll be sailing starting on the 7th, which gives us plenty of time ahead of the in-port race and for the leg start. So we’re in good shape.’’

Vestas co-founder Mark Towill, who was skippering the boat at the time of the accident in place of the absent Enright, said the crew had been deeply affected by the incident but believed they were ready to start sailing agin.

‘‘Any time you’re in a situation like this that involves the loss of life, everybody was pretty shaken up,’’ Towill told AP.

‘‘Time has passed and we’ve taken the appropriate time and measures to make sure we’re dealing with that properly. Now we’re on to the next chapter of this evolving adventure called the Volvo Ocean Race.’’

Towill said the crew had refrained from commenting until now because of investigations, and out of respect for the dead fisherman and his family.

‘‘On behalf of the team, our thoughts and prayers go out to the

"Any time you're in a situation like this, that involves the loss of life, everybody was pretty shaken up." Vestas co-founder Mark Towill

deceased’s family,’’ Towill said in a team statement as he recalled the drama of the accident.

‘‘The impact from the collision spun us into a tack to port that we weren’t prepared for. Everyone who was off watch came on deck. We checked the bow, saw the hole in the port side and went below to assess the damage. Water was flowing in to our boat through the hole, and there was concern over the structural integrity of the bow.

‘‘We heeled the boat to starboard to keep the port bow out of the water. The sail stack was already to starboard and the starboard water ballast tank was full. We also kept the keel canted to starboard. We placed our emergency pump in the bow to pump water overboard. We were able to minimise the ingress, but the boat was difficult to manoeuvre because it was heeled over so much.

‘‘It took roughly 20 minutes to get our boat under control, and then we headed back towards the location of the collision. Upon arrival, several people on a fishing vessel nearby were shining lights to a point on the water. Our first thought was that they could be looking for someone, so we immediately started a search and rescue. After some time searching, we eventually spotted a person in the water.’’

‘‘I’m very proud of our crew ... everyone acted professionally and without hesitation.’’

The Volvo Ocean Race has commissioned an independent report into ocean racing at night in areas of high vessel traffic.