During this year’s Golden Globe Race prologue, from the Spanish port of Gijon to Les Sables d’Olonne in western France, Abhilash Tomy’s Rustler 36 Bayanat was involved in a collision with a cargo vessel. Fortunately, his boat didn’t appear to be seriously threatened, beyond damage to the forestay chainplate.
However, as is often the case, the full extent of the damage was not obvious at sea. After he docked in Les Sables d’Olonne, the scale of the repair needed became clear. More than 18in of the bow section of the hull – and a larger portion of the deck – was severely delaminated and had to be cut away in a drastic, but necessary, first step.
After the incident Tomy’s first satellite phone call – even before his wife or the race organisers – was to his technical manager, Dutch naval architect Dick Koopmans. He’d been in readiness for the race and had performed the same role for Mark Slats in the first revived Golden Globe four years ago.
