Elies was working at the bow, leaning on the pulpit, as he was preparing a sail, when his 60-foot boat, Generali, came to a sudden halt slamming into a wave. The sailor felt a sudden acute pain. He collapsed on the foredeck and had to crawl back inside his boat to contact his team. According to the initial diagnosis from Dr. Jean-Yves Chauve, the race doctor, Yann is suffering from a broken femur (thighbone).
 

The monohull, Generali, tis lying hove to,i s currently 800 miles south of Australia in the Indian Ocean. The Australian emergency services were immediately alerted and are looking at ways to get Yann off as quickly as possible.