Equipment Failure Forces Catamaran Out of Race

PlayStation, the 125-foot catamaran designed in Newport Beach, has quit the around-the-world Race of the Millennium, citing ongoing problems with its mainsail and the breaking of its port dagger board late Saturday night.

Steve Fossett, skipper and owner of the $5.5-million boat, advised race officials Sunday at 12:49 a.m. (Greenwich Mean Time) of his decision to withdraw only 14 days into what is expected to be a two-month race.

Fossett said he made the decision after consulting with his crew, which includes co-designer Gino Morrelli of Tustin.

“Now it’s the dagger board,” Fossett wrote in an e-mail to officials. “Just after we hoisted the mainsail after a day of repairs, the port-side dagger board was shattered and broke away. I suppose we probably could sail around the world with just the starboard dagger board, but the real issue is the sails.”

PlayStation had trouble with its sails almost from the beginning of the race, which started Dec. 31 in Barcelona, Spain. Its mainsail ripped two days into the race, requiring a pit stop in Gibraltar to replace the sail with a spare main that is two years and more than 15,000 miles old.

Earlier Saturday that sail ripped and had been sewn up by the boat’s crew, but Fossett said he and the crew weren’t confident that the sail could make it the rest of the way around the world, particularly with the most demanding part of the trip, the treacherous Southern Ocean, looming.

“We are destined to be struggling with sail repairs for the rest of the way,” Fossett said in the e-mail. “We just aren’t prepared to tackle the Southern Ocean.”

PlayStation has turned north and is expected to reach port in Miami in 10 to 14 days. Fossett’s Web site said after replacement of the dagger board and refitting of new sails, PlayStation will take aim at the Miami to New York City and transatlantic records.

“We are still very confident in the boat and her structure,” Fossett said, “and in her tremendous speed and record-setting potential.”