Considering options

Gear has been removed from the boat as the Team Vestas Wind crew remain awaiting a pick-up

The stricken Team Vestas Wind VO65 continues to lie on Cargados Carajos Shoals 220 miles NNE of Mauritius after she ran aground there at 19 knots at the weekend forcing her crew to abandon her.

The team and race organisers are now working out the best way to recover the Volvo Ocean 65 in the Indian Ocean.

Neil Cox, shore manager of the Danish team, said: “The photo paints a pretty graphic picture of what’s going on out there. The picture tells a 1,000 words.”

Cox added that his focus was still the security of the nine members of the crew. “We have still got nine guys sitting on what is basically a sand pit out in the middle of the Indian Ocean. They are still the priority. It’s a peace of mind to know they’re all safe and doing everything they can out there with the boat right now.”

Cox said that sail ropes, fluids, electronics and hardware had been taken off the boat. They were picked up from there at daylight by a coastguard RIB and taken to the nearby Íle du Sud.

The islet has very little communications with the outside world and the crew are awaiting transportation back to Mauritius. This is expected to happen within the next 24 hours. The crew have received food packages via an airdrop from a coastguard plane. It confirmed that all were uninjured in the collision.

The Mauritius Coast Guard took the pictures as part of its usual operations after such an incident.