Dominique Wavre and his team have identified the electrical problem, which led the skipper to return to Les Sables d'Olonne. It was the computer unit in the system, which had stopped working. A new part is on the way from Lorient. The sailor is expected to set sail again on the next tide at around eleven tonight (French time).
The International Jury will be meeting to make a judgement concerning the fact that four crewmen were still aboard Bahrain Team Pindar in the four minutes leading up to the start.
The shore crew of Temenos are working hard to fix the electrical problems which forced Dominique Wavre to retire. If the problem can be solved before midnight tonight then Temenos may be able to leave Les Sables d'Olonne and rejoin the race.
Dominique Wavre: "Already this morning, when I was leaving the pontoon, the electric system was a bit doubtful. Once out at sea, I realised that it wasn't charging. The batteries were losing their power all the time. They're down now to half of their capacity. None of the chargers are working, neither the solar panels, nor the wind turbine nor the alternator. It was a fairly easy decision to decide to turn back, as by the end of the night I wouldn't have had any battery left, no energy at all. I would have been in 30-40 knots of wind, with the front that is forecast, with no automatic pilot, nothing at all. It was therefore only natural to head back to port and try to find out what is wrong with the damned electrical system!
“We realised there was something wrong a bit too late. We thought we had sorted it out by phone with the electrician. At sea upwind, I went inside and stripped down the wires to see if it wasn't a connection problem. I looked over the whole circuit, but couldn't find anything. So, it's beyond my electrical skills. It's down to the experts to find out what's wrong now.
Do you think you'll be stuck here for long? “All depends if we find out what is wrong. I just hope that it is not the battery units themselves, which are the problem, as it will take a while to get some more from Paris. An electrical problem can be very complicated or very simple. I hope it is simple this time, so that I can get away on the next tide. If we repair it very quickly, we should be able to set sail again before midnight.”
Dominique Wavre, the skipper of Temenos, who turned around at 15h05 because of an electrical problem, moored up at around 17h00 in Les Sables d'Olonne.
Sébastien Josse (BT) and Marc Guillemot (Safran) were tied for the lead in the first rankings in this sixth Vendée Globe. At 1600h, the two solo sailors were 0.2 miles ahead of Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac 2) in third. After three hours of racing the first thirteen boats of the 30-strong fleet are within a mile of each other.
At 15h05, Dominique Wavre (Temenos II) informed the Race Directors that he was returning to Les Sables d’Olonne with electrical problems. He is unable to charge his batteries, but hopes to set sail again as soon as possible.
