Gerald Bybee

December 10, 2000 The maxi-catamaran Team Philips skippered by Briton Pete Goss suffered serious damage last night.

En route to The Race prologue in Monoco, the boat faced three storms; the third with winds of 100 kph, which seriously damaged the central pod. Control of the boat had become unpredictable and this morning Pete Goss decided to abandon ship. All of the seven sailors aboard were rescued early in the morning by the German cargo ship Hoechst Express. Team Philips was abandoned in a position allowing a possible recovery operation to be attempted as early as possible.

Bruno Peyron, David Adams and Denis Horeau, race directors of The Race, have been in touch with Mark Orr (Team Philips - Mission Control), since early morning, and are following the evolution of the situation closely. Said Bruno Peyron, "Pete Goss and his crew are responsible sailors and have undoubtedly taken the right decision. The sailors are safe and sound and the boat has been left in a configuration enabling a recovery operation to be envisaged as soon as weather conditions become more favorable."