Harry McGougan,  Alex Thomson Racing’s Operations Director explained what they saw when Hugo Boss  was lifted this afternoon. “There is a transverse crack that runs through the outer and inner skin of the boat. Having now lifted the boat out of the water we can see the underneath of the boat and the full extent of the damage. The crack extends 5 metres to almost the centreline.  The unidirectional fibres that makes up the outside layer of the boat have peeled off from the start of the crack to the back of the boat.”

McGougan explained what the team need to achieve. “In the time scale available to us to restart the race we would have to do a full structural survey, put together a full repair plan and then put a team together the size of which we had for the repair three weeks ago.“

A decision will be made tomorrow on the best way forward.

“At the moment there is no definite reason why this has happened but there is a strong possibility that the boat has hit something ,” concluded McGougan.

Paolo Manganelli’s (structural engineer) initial thoughts on the cause of the crack after a visual inspection of the boat were the same. “ It’s a bit too early to say very much right now, but we are not ruling out a collision with a submerged object.”

Kito de Pavant (Groupe Bel), who has been motoring back since his boat was dismasted on Monday, has been met at sea by his support team and his family, who took out a few extra cans of diesel. He is due to reach Les Sables at around 1h30-2h tonight, at almost the same time as Yannick Bestaven (Aquarelle.com). Kito will receive a warm welcome. Family, friends, support team and more than fifty employees of his sponsor will be lining the harbour walls to welcome him back. Then, there will be the people of Les Sables, who are always there to support the Vendée Globe sailors, at every hour of the day or night. A hotline has been set up to inform people of Kito's ETA. If you are in Les Sables and want to be there tonight, the number is 06 60 14 28 95 28.  

“I am starting to feel half-human again, after a night "rest", compared to the first three days of this race. Yesterday was the transition between the storm and the "Portuguese Trade Winds".
The wind slowly dropped, and the waves became less aggressive. I was able to do a complete check over ROXY to make sure there was no damage during the storm; inside and out. All looks well, except the little breakages on my runner slack line, and the oil spill in the aft compartment. When the wind and waves had dropped enough, I managed to find enough energy to hoist the big gennaker, and by the end of the day ROXY was surfing down the Atlantic swell!   A nice surprise, just before sunset, I saw a little sail out towards the West - it was Aviva! So I managed to call Dee on the VHF and we had a little chat. It was nice to find out that she was OK too, and to hear the voice of someone who is close by. Then we were "buzzed" by a Spanish coastguard aeroplane who called us up to congratulate us for getting through the storm - and to tell us to call him "if we ever needed anything!!??" 

Last night I concentrated on getting some sleep - real sleep of more than 10 or 15 minutes at a time. I had several long (40 minute) sleeps and a few 20 minute ones.   This morning, I have been starting my little jobs - as we surf along. I have repaired one of my runners, and after my porridge, I will get going on the other side......"  sent by e-mail by Sam today.

 

«I gybed around an hour and a half ago (at 13h30, editor): the wind is very variable in direction and strength and I'd say it's not very pleasant working. I'm paying close attention to the adjustments to ensure I get the most out of Gitana Eighty. The temperature is gradually rising and I saw some baby flying fish just now. However, it's not yet really the skies you associate with the trade winds, but that will come with time. Our boats are very demanding and require our attention at all time. Maintenance is an ongoing affair and particularly after periods of sailing in stormy conditions, as at the start of the race. Things really went flying on board the boat and I had a lot of cleaning up to do. I'm gradually returning to the daily routine of a round the world sailor!» explained Loïck Peyron (Gitana Eighty) to his shore team in the middle of the afternoon.

Kito de Pavant (Groupe Bel) and Yannick Bestaven (Aquarelle.com) are due in Les Sables d’Olonne tonight. The two sailors, both very disappointed, are going to require all the support of the people of Les Sables, who will certainly turn out in force to greet them.

Three 60-foot monohulls crossed each other's path in the commercial harbour in Les Sables d’Olonne, either to have their mast removed, or to restep the mast, or to be taken out of the water. However, they have not had much time for a chat.

After arriving at noon, Alex Thomson quickly removed the mast on his damaged Hugo Boss. In his wake, the Canadian, Derek Hatfield did the same to repair his mast track, which had snapped off. Two hours later, Hugo Boss was lifted out of the water by crane with 5-metre long strips of carbon hanging down, which does not look very promising for the repairs that lie ahead. The team bailed out several buckets of water from the cockpit as the boat was raised in the air. The port workers did not really have time to catch their breath. The mast on Cheminées Poujoulat needed restepping. Bernard Stamm and his team have completed the repairs to the mast and boomerang on the top level of spreaders. The Swiss sailor hopes to set out for good this time during the night.