Update: Shosho's Charles Nankin

Good news on the steady recovery of Shosholoza's crewman Charles Nankin who was injured during the German Sailing Grand Prix at Kiel in August, from a story posted yesterday on South Africa's Supersport website....

More good news from Valencia is that Charles Nankin, the experienced Cape Town crew member, is recovering well from the back injury he suffered in Kiel, Germany.

"I feel better every day. I can already walk for half an hour and swim a little," Nankin said in Spain on Wednesday. "But any more than that and I have a lot of pain."

Nankin hopes to be fit to take his place on board by November. "The most important thing is that I must just get back on the boat. It will be an important psychological moment for me."

Physiotherapist Michal Hadala and biokineticist Julian Calefato of the Institute for Sport Science in Newlands, Cape Town, are helping Nankin with his rehabilitation programme.

Calefato said Nankin's vertebrae still had to mend and it could take six to eight weeks. In the interim he has to strengthen his muscles.

The team had a big fright when Nankin fell overboard in Kiel and found himself under the boat. He was trapped by the rudder and had a narrow escape.