At 0900hrs Pacific Time (1900hrs UTC) Gipsy Moth IV arrived safely in the marina at Papeete, Tahiti.

Richard Baggett, the lead skipper of the GMIV project said: 'The crossing went very well, we had light SE wind, low swell and the weather overall was very kind enabling us to make good speed'.

Regarding the damage to Gipsy Moth IV, Richard said: 'There was some water ingress but this was easily containable with the diesel powered bilge pump, there is some damage to the rudder and as expected the starboard side has suffered scraping from the rocks'.

Despite obvious tiredness, Richard is very upbeat and keen to get on with the repair work as soon as possible.

John Jeffreys who has been involved with the salvage in Rangiroa since last Sunday and accompanied Richard on the crrossing to Tahiti said 'this has been one of the hardest weeks of my life, I am bruised, battered and extremely tired, but I could not be happier with the outcome of the teams' efforts'.

Gipsy Moth IV has now been lifted out of the water and chocked up on the hard in readiness for the damage assessment by the surveyor at the start of next week.
Yachting Monthly, 7 May 2006