Vendée Globe

Vendée Globe leader Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac 2) reported early this afternoon that he had suffered a high speed collision with a floating object and badly damaged the mechanism at the head of his rudder.

The Nicois skipper has been forced to slow, deep reefing his mainsail to keep Paprec-Virbac flatter to maintain steerage with his port rudder as he climbs to pass the West Australian ice-security gate.

He insisted this evening’s during a live radio broadcast that he will fight on and try to affect a repair which he said will not be at easy. 

“I was sailing about 20 knots of speed when I hit an object in the sea which broke the ‘fuse’ of my rudder, but while the rudder cam up it destroyed the bearing at the top of the rudder, but also the connecting bar that enables the rudder to go up and down in its case. I am in a bad situation because I can only use the windward rudder which is a big problem when going downwind because I can only use a small area, only three reefs in the main, so I will wait for this big storm to go through. After the gate I will try to gybe and repair the rudder which will become the windward rudder. It is a really complicated repair but I think I can make it, I can make it happen. On the transom it is not going to be easy. I can do funny things on the boat and so I try to do this so I can continue this beautiful race.” Dick told this evening’s special radio broadcast “The most important damage is the rudder stock damage, then the problem of alignment.”

Dick reported that he was still sailing at between 11 and 13 knots but has already conceded more than 20 miles to Mike Golding, GBR, (Ecover 3). The British skipper was first to pass the West Australia Ice Gate, followed by Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement) and Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia).

Skipper Golding confessed to some slightly nervous hours climbing north east to the west end of the ice gate, fully powered up in Ecover 3 in a building 30-35 knots breeze as the next storm was due to the hit the leaders later this evening. He said that he was less worried about the next period of strong winds since they would be on a more downwind course and he expected the leading boats to line up.

A delicate and carefully executed operation re-floated Bernard Stamm’s stricken Cheminées Poujoulat early this morning off Portes de Francais in the Kergulen Islands.

Both Stamm and his compatriot Dominique Wavre – skipper of Temenos II which was also forced to take refuge there to effect repairs – had to jump into Cheminée Poujoulat’s liferaft at the last minute before the Open 60 was driven ashore in 45 knot winds late on Sunday night. They were taken ashore by Navy divers.

The refloating operation took three hours and involved maneuvering with a truck, the supply vessel Marion Dufresnes of the Territorre Austral et Antartartic Francais and a team of divers.

“This morning it took us almost three hours to get the boat off with the help of the Marion Dufresnes and all the teams did a great job. Now the boat is afloat, but I don't think she can sail. We're waiting to see what Bernard Stamm wants to do. Yesterday evening, he was completely dispirited about leaving his boat.  It really got to him.  I think that after a night's sleep, which was very short and probably not very restful, he is feeling a little better this morning.” Said Frederic Martineau of TAAF.

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