Spirit of Hungary officially retires from the IMOCA Ocean Masters New York to Barcelona Race

Nandor Fa, Skipper of Spirit of Hungary, announced at 1200 hrs New York time today his regrettable decision to have to officially retire from the IMOCA Ocean Masters New York to Barcelona Race.  His new boat was put to the test for the first time on the transatlantic crossing from Trieste to New York where he and co-skipper Marcell Goszleth arrived only last Saturday 31st May at 1000 hrs. The boat now needs some repair and maintenance time to get back into shape for Nandor's ongoing sailing programme.

Nandor Fa, the Hungarian Skipper, explained his decision,

"I am terribly disappointed not to be racing with the other boats and skippers and to have to retire from this great race. From the start we took on a big challenge to get here in time with a totally new boat and we just did not have enough time to get everything done. There is no point in taking any risks at this stage - for us as sailors or for the boat - and so I know this is the right decision today - but its still a tough situation to accept. I am happy to have been here in New York with the event, it has given IMOCA Ocean Masters and Spirit of Hungary a great profile and platform to build on."