Hearts sink on Virgin Money
DATE: 24 October 2008
TIME (GMT): 10:00am
ELAPSED JOURNEY TIME: 2 days 50 mins
TIME REMAINING: 4 days, 16 hours, 39 mins
Speaking via satellite phone aboard Virgin Money – 2 days into their attempt to break the fastest crossing of the Atlantic by mono-hull, an exhausted Richard Branson said: “We’ve just experienced a night from hell when Virgin Money was struck by a massive wave from behind – washing one of our life rafts over board, damaging the spinnaker and devastatingly tearing a massive hole in our mainsail. Luckily all of the crew were harnessed in and no one was swept overboard, which is all that matters at the end of the day. We don’t know what the next few hours will bring. We are now frantically trying to repair the sails enough to continue.
The last two days have felt like a lifetime, we knew when we set out this late in the season that we were going to be faced with some horrific weather conditions but none of us could have predicted the huge storm systems – at times between gale force 7 – 9, seeing swells up to 40ft – that we have been bombarded with. We have pushed Virgin Money to its limits – I now fear over her limits.
We have the most amazing, experienced crew, including Olympic triple Gold medallist Ben Ainslie, onboard - who will work flat out for the next few hours to endeavour to resurrect our dreams of breaking this most historic of sailing records. After everything we have been through in the last two days Sam, Holly (who has already been called upon several times to use her medical training with the crew suffering a variety of injuries as a result of being thrown about the boat by the severe conditions) and I will be bitterly disappointed to give up the fight for our first world record attempt together as a family.”
ENDS
For further information:
General Press office
Tel: +44 207 111 1015
Jackie McQuillan, Group PR Director, Virgin Money
Tel: + 44 7905 309096
Jackie.mcquillan@virgin.com
Scott Mowbray, Head of PR, Virgin Money
Tel: +44 7906 444540
Scott.mowbray@virginmoney.com
Grant Bather, PR Manager, Virgin Money
Tel: +44 7834 844427
Grant.bather@virginmoney.com