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Snake bit. Alex needs an intervention with an exorcist or a shaman.
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Somehow, Hugo Boss is still getting more than their share of publicity!Comment
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From The Fleet 10/29 Updates
Tracker
While the leading duo of Ultimes, Sodebo Ultim and Macif, pass between the Canary Islands and the Moroccan coast in light winds last night and this morning, there was a welcome pause for the remainder of the fleet last night as they encountered a small light winds bubble. But a new depression over the Azores is going to make life tough for the next 24 hours.
Because the Azores high is displaced and squeezed the two leaders face the prospect of light winds and having to stick with the African coast where the best corridor of stronger winds are. There is even a passage through the Doldrums which is very east.
The contrast is marked for the rest of the fleet. After two depressions in three days they face another, a potent cocktail at the Azores mixing a cold mass of air from Labrador and hot Caribbean air to form a malicious low which will sweep the islands before spinning up towards Ireland.
The co-skipper pairs got a break last night, winds dropped to five knots which allowed some respite and perhaps the chance to rapidly tackle any repairs or try and create some order on board. But before dawn this morning this next low looked set to bring winds of over 30kts. At the latitude of the Azores the leaders are likely to pass to the East of the islands rather than through. From here it will be 400 hard miles to the latitude of Madeira before getting to more manageable conditions.
The top four IMOCAs are now lead by PRB, Vincent Riou and Seb Col overhauling Queguiner-Leucemie Espoir, Yann Eliès and Charlie Dalin, during the night to now be 3.5 miles ahead. They have Banque Populaire VIII 12 miles behind them and SMA, Paul Meilhat and Michel Desjoyeaux 17 miles behind Armel Le Cléac’h and Erwan Tabarly. 150 miles further north the back markers will have half day more suffering the brunt of the depression.
And for Class 40 the break is perhaps more welcomed. They face even longer in these testing conditions before they can break south. The leading duo are less than a mile apart, tracking west in upwind conditions. Yannick Bestaven and Pierre Brasseur on Le Conservateur still have V & B nicely in their pocket, leading directly in front of their rivals whilst this top two have a lead of over 30 miles. Of the internationals Brazilian duo Eduardo Penido and Eduardo Araujo lie seventh on their first big Class 40 race with Pip Hare and Philippa Hutton-Squire in ninth.
They said, 5am calls:
Jean Luc Nélias, co-skipper of Sobébo Ultim '(Ultime) “We pass between Fuerteventura and Tarfaya (Morocco). Yesterday we saw a fisherman without AIS, we need to take great care. We stick to the Moroccan coast but finally gybe away. This is my fifth passage of the Doldrums and it's different every time but it is always painful. We have had lots of maneuvering from the beginning, this is the first night it’s been quieter.”
Yann Elies, skipper Quequiner - Leukemia Espoir (IMOCA): “"We are at 20 knots and getting back into building seas and wind. Us and the boat are already quite used to this. It is hoped that this depression is not going to be too bad. When looking at the files it can potentially be complicated. With PRB, we are going well even if SMA and Banque Populaire are not far away. We must push hard now, at some point it will be war. "
Pierre Brasseur, co-skipper of Le Conservatoire (CLASS40): “It was a quieter we could fix things. A new depression will return in the evening, this is the way out. It will be active and spread quickly. Behind the front, high pressure will relocate and the trade winds will build. We broke a few things but we managed to keep the boat at almost 100%. Conditions allow us to rest regularly, but we can not sleep, it bangs and bounces too much”
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Armel Le Cléac'h, Banque Populaire skipper VIII (IMOCA): " The conditions were difficult at first. Now it is a little bit better. We will soon have sustained, settled wind and be able to get south. There is a small area to pass in which it is quite windy. We will get through this transition period with bigger seas and lots of manoeuvres. But we are much more into regatta mode, the classic rhytym of the race. We are keeping a close eye on everything with this new Banque Populaire. The start was hard, the sea conditions have been complicated. Everything is not just perfect but it works. And some time soon we will be able to remove the foul weather gear and the boots. And the boat? Well it is still an IMOCA, it is wet and noisy, it is no drier than the old boat from that perspective. Each manouvre or change we are on the deck. We struggled a bit when conditions were hard, but we have a good atmosphere now. We put our shoulders to the wheel together for each manouevre. We enjoy it together. We know we will share some better days."
Michel Desjoyeaux, skipper co-SMA (IMOCA): "Right now we are moving well. The the wind is very variable, from 30 to 14 knots and right now it is 20 knots. I have my breakfast and and I hope my jam will stay on my bread! These are conditions now are much more fun than yesterday. It was really shaking and bashing. This morning it is going well, we should stay ahead of the strong wind that is getting up. If we can time it well and push it we should be OK. We're only thirty miles from the leading boats. The horizon clears. The route opens and it is looking better. There are things thrown around and broken. The satellite phone handset was an early casualty. Everything works fine. It's a bit wet from time to time. But mostly we are quite well protected. We had strong winds but it was reaching and so pretty good. Paul seems to enjoy it all. So far we never had these kind of conditions on board SMA, and so it is a good baptism of fire. We have many feelings, working on settings and speed. We look forwards and anticpate the changes when we can, but all is well. We are happy, we eat, we sleep, we sail!!
Kito de Pavant, skipper Bastide-Otio (IMOCA): "It's a bugger. We have big communication problems from the start and it is not fun. It is difficult, we had the big seas for three days, a lot of manoeuvres, we do not know where we are going, we can not share information with our partners, it's super frustrating. From the beginning it was the Fleet (broadband) that would not work. That is a handicap for the race. We have no information, I think the competitors are in the West, I do not know what to do. "
Pascal Bidégorry, co-skipper of Macif (Ultime) "It is 15 knots, downwind, the wind got up after a quiet night now builds between slightly between 25 and 30 knots. We went very near the Canaries at dawn and it was beautiful. With a moonrise last night it was pretty special. We got close, not for sightseeing but to get some more wind than Sodebo, who have been a little better off than us. We will look for the wind, a little to the west but we will find out in due course. The boat is fine, no problem, we had small electronic worries after Cape Finisterre but no big problems on the boat. It works well on the side where there is the foil, so on port tack. We have not done much on port since we left. The boat is young, a good job has been done. It it is quite satisfactory. The pace is good, it's going pretty well. Macif is a big boat, no denying it, the boat is demanding. The conditions are nice, the sea is good, 25-30 knots downwind. I am in my little cabin, I look out the windows and can see François, he needs to put on some suncream! Really it's good. We have friends behind who are suffering....."Comment
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Mast Track Issues Force O' Canada To Reconsider
UPDATE: O Canada pauses racing in Transat Jacques Vabre due to damage.
Message 2 from Skipper Eric Holden 1500 UTC:
On deck again after a long day up the rig. We have lost a section of our track at the 2nd reef point. We have now got sails up again but only can hoist the main up to 3rd reef. Wind has picked up again so working up the mast has had to stop.
Of course the wind is on the nose, close hauled on starboard tack at the moment can only do 120 heading. We have not retired yet and we are assessing if a technical stop will be required to complete repairs. We will have discussions with our team and decide what is the best course of action for us.
Message 1 from Skipper Eric Holden:
We have suffered damage to the mast track where part of the mast track has broken off the mast near the second reef point. I have ascended the mast to detach the headboard as the headboard car is jammed where the track is broken, so we have been able to lower the mainsail.
We are in calm winds but the sea state is very uncomfortable for working aloft. We are assessing the situation and what our options are. Daylight in a couple hours. Will keep you posted.Comment
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And the hits keep coming!Comment
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Adopteunskipper. net Retires
Nicolas Boidevezi, skipper of the monohull 60 feet Adopts A Skipper.net and his American co-skipper Ryan Breymaier racing in the IMOCA class in the Transat Jacques Vabre 2015 cornfirmed last night that they have a technical problem with their starboard lower running backstay (acable that ensures the holding of the mast). The crew finally decided to abandon the race, for safety reasons, and are bound for Concarneau.
This is obviously a very big disappointment for Nicolas Boidevezi and Ryan Breymaier who fought successfully to be at the start of this Transat Jacques Vabre. After a cautious start to the race the duo were happy with their strategic positioning to the west of the fleet and felt they were ready to reap a good reward.
"This is obviously a very difficult decision. But the breaking of the backstay at this level is sufficiently serious, We can not afford to take the risk to go and see another one break ... Ocean racing is not a a game of Russian roulette, "says Boidevezi.
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Creno Moustache-Solidaire Heads For Pit Stop
Following the breakage of a starboard spreader, Thibault Hector and Morgan Launay have secured their rig and decided to sail to Spain to make a repair. In a sustained wind of 30-35 knots SW'ly and high sea, a stainless fitting broke but the crew was able to quickly change tack to save the rig. But as the wind is veering NW Creno Moustache-Solidaire will be able to make a course towards La Coruña and Vigo in the next hours. The duo expects to quickly repair to return to the course.Comment
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Ultim Actual Headed To Shore
At 0400hrs UTC this Friday morning, Yves le Blevec, skipper of the Ultim Actual and his co-skipper Jean-Baptiste Vaillant, informed the Race Management of the Transat Jacques Vabre that they have technical problems. Actual was sailing in manageable conditions, reaching in 20-25 knots at the latitude of Gibraltar.
Actual now route towards the European mainland making a speed of 7 knots in a W –SW’ly wind. Both co-skippers are well.
More information to come during the morning.Comment
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IMOCA 60 St Michel-Virbac Suffers Structural Damage
IMOCA 60 St Michel-Virbac is headed to Madeira for a pit stop. As you can see, Jean-Pierre Dick's gorgeous race yacht is wounded, with broken parts in the structure. The consecutive low pressure systems clearly weren't easy on our sailors and boats!
Good luck lads!
The Imoca 60st Michel-Virbac fact road to Madeira for a stopover technique. As you can see, the beautiful bird of Jean-Pierre Dicko's hurt. A part of the structure has transferred under the repetitive shock waves breaking generated by the systems consecutive dépressionnaires crossed by our sailors and boats since the departure of le havre.
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SMA Abandons!
Trailing Edge of the veil of keel ripped: SMA forced to abandonment
Since 36 hours, the speed of SMA was on average less than 2 knots to that of its competitors. While Paul and Michel had felt some vibrations, 17 hours ago (French time) Paul has plunged under the boat and found that the trailing edge of the veil of keel was almost totally ripped off.
As it is not a question of a structural integrity of the boat or the keel, the two men are not in danger. The duo have decided to make their way to the Guadeloupe, distance of about 2000 miles where the technical team the will wait on site for repairs as quickly as possible in view of the Transat St Barth - Port-LA-Forest.Comment
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If the designers are looking for the breaking point, I would say they have achieved it!Comment
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Hugo Loss:Alex Thomson and Guillermo Altadill Abandon Ship
Update – Emergency Situation
Alex Thomson and Guillermo Altadill, skippers of yacht HUGO BOSS in the Transat Jacques Vabre set off their emergency beacon this afternoon at 13.25UT.
The Spanish Coastguard was informed and sent a rescue helicopter to their location 82 nautical miles from the Spanish coast. Both Alex and Guillermo were rescued from the location by helicopter and are on their way back to land.
HUGO BOSS incurred some structural damage earlier this week forcing Alex and Guillermo to stop racing. The Skippers had made a repair and were on route to A Coruna where the technical team were waiting to meet them. After sailing for a period of 36 hours in high seas and strong winds, the structure of the boat deteriorated further and the boat started to take on water and sink. The technical team are in A Coruna, Spain awaiting further information from the coast guard.
Managing Director Stewart Hosford expresses ‘Our first concern is with Alex and Guillermo and when they are safely on the ground we will address the situation with our IMOCA 60 and begin the salvage process. We are grateful for the swift response from the rescue services in this situation.’
Alex Thomson Racing will keep everyone updated via the website www.AlexThomsonRacing.comComment
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Sorry to hear. Glad they were safely rescued.
I trust when they recover the boat, they will abandon the foiling experiment.Comment
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Multi50' Ciella Village Damaged
Damage Aboard The Multi 50' Ciella Village
Thierry Bouchard and Oliver Krauss will make a brief layover in Cape Verde before resuming the race.
Today at 15 H 30, while operating in a wind of some twenty knots on the direct route, Thierry Bouchard and Oliver Krauss have suffered damage on board the multi 50 Ciela Village. The furling of the gennaker was ripped off, also damaging the attachments on the bow of the boat. They first tried to fix it, in vain. They are headed the Cape Verde or their technical team will be waiting for them to repair. They will resume their route to Brazil in order to finish when conditions allow.Comment
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