Yacht needs money

Press, 5 December 1989, Page 42

Yacht needs money

NZPA-Reuter Sydney A Soviet yacht Fazisi is facing serious financial problems as it prepares for the third leg of the Whitbread Round-the-World race to Auckland, beginning on December 23. The yacht, ninth overall in the 23-yacht fleet after the 7650-mile journey from Uruguay, requires hefty sponsorship if it is to complete the course. “We’re hanging on by the skin of our teeth,” said Monika Tingay, a member of the yacht’s shore crew. “We’re trying to sort out something here at the moment but we’re not having a lot of success. “We've got enough to get us to Auckland but after that we need new sails and new

equipment. It’s a bit tricky,” she said by telephone from Fremantle. The yacht’s skipper, Skip Novak, of the United States, was quoted by a Sydney newspaper as saying Fazisi required SUSIOO.OOO to continue. Tingay and Vladislav Mumikov, the yacht’s project manager, declined to confirm the figure. “It’s very difficult to name any sums but the boat is ready to sail,” said Murnikov, Fazisi has been struggling to fund its challenge since the United States Pepsi-Cola company halted a sponsorship deal. Three Uruguay wool trading companies sponsored the yacht during the second leg.