Paul Bunn’s 44.7 Beneteau, Christine has been forced to retire from the Melbourne to Hobart race. Bunn’s wife Lynn reported, “Paul is just devastated. I feel so sorry for him and the crew. The engine had recently been serviced, everything should have been fine.”
Engines are used, of course not to propel the boat but to charge the batteries necessary for lights and navigation equipment. All Melbourne to Hobart boats are required to make a declaration at 41 degrees that the boat and crew are fit to continue to the West Coast. A non-working engine makes that declaration impossible.
