ECOLUTION
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Eco-ship reached Aruba
Wubbo Ockels reached Oranjestad in Aruba on Jan 20, 2013, after a voyage of 2,5 months aboard the "Ecolution". Minister Ronald Plasterk and the prime Minister Mike Eman welcomed the former Astronaut who said there were few problems during the voyage after the boat had suffered problems with broken cables at the keel short after its departure off France.
Ecolution still in Brest, waiting for inspection
The "Ecolution" is still in the port of Brest and must be taken out of the water for an inspection of the keel. But the local yard has time only on Dec 3. Owner Wubbo Ockels is now looking for another place to get the boat out of the water to see if there is a dent on the front of the keel box which is a vulnerable point. The crew had planned to spend Christmas in Aruba which would have meant that the ship would reach the Canary Islands around Dec 2-3. There is still a little time. Before the "Ecolution" starts its crossing of the Atlantic, all problems are to be solved. The crew has already replaced all keel cable with a special cord so they can operate the keel and pick him up.
Ockels stranded in Newhaven
Already on its second day into the voyage to Aruba the "Ecolution" got stranded in Newhaven, UK, on Nov 6 after suffering engine problems. By unknown cause, water had poured into the diesel engines. Volunteers from Newhaven’s RNLI lifeboat station were launched on Nov 6 at 5 p.m. to the ship which was disabled in choppy conditions seven miles south of Newhaven. The skipper had shut down both engines and called the Coastguard for assistance. Newhaven’s all-weather Severn Class lifeboat "David and Elizabeth Acland" arrived on scene with the stricken vessel at 5.37 p.m. A tow was established after about 30 minutes and the casualty, with eight crew on board, was slowly towed towards Newhaven. The vessel was safely towed into Newhaven harbour and moored on the east quay at approximately 8.30 p.m. Apart from this mishap, Ockels was satisfied with the achieved success and said, the "Ecolution" was much faster than expected and was sailing great. Report with photo: http://rnli.org/NewsCentre/Pages/Newhaven-Lifeboat-launched-to-a-26-metre-twin-mastered-schooner-with-engine-fail.aspx
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