The Royal Australian Naval Frigate HMAS Arunta is making good headway towards Generali and Safran and at 9h GMT this morning, it was reported to have picked up the two boats on its radar.

 

Favourable conditions on their passage  means that the Royal Australian Navy’s Frigate HMAS Arunta is expected to be on station ready to start the evacuation of injured Vendée Globe skipper Yann Eliès at around 0930hrs GMT this morning (Saturday).

The plan, which has been put in place in cooperation with the Generali Sailing Team managers who know the layout and handling of the Open 60, with Vendée Globe race direction, with the MRCC and Royal Australian Navy, is to launch a large RIB and to go on board Generali with a stretcher and spinal splint.
It has been recommended that the keel is canted to reduce the freeboard to make to easier to lower Yann into the RIB. 

Once on board the Frigate he will be assessed by the civilian doctor on board. There are full facilites should it be decided that an immediate surgical procedure is required.

Eliès will be taken to Perth military hospital.

Generali, the Open 60, will be left by the crew and the Vendée Globe race directors will continue to monitor her position. 
The mainsail with 3 reefs will be left up but they will furl the staysail. 
Doors will be shut and the helm tied off to allow the boat to drift.

A crew Jean-Baptiste Epron and Philippe Laot, from Team Generali, have left for  Australia to go aboard a motor launch which will take them out  to the area, and they will sail her back to Southern Australia.

The Australian frigate is due to reach Generali between 9h and 9h30 UTC according to Marc Guillemot, who was in contact this morning with the crew of HMAS Arunta. However, Sam Davies is is unlikely to be there before the rescue team. She is nevertheless continuing to sail towards the zone, while awaiting further instructions.

 

Over the past 24 hours, Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) sailed the greatest distance towards the finish.  Between 19h yesterday and this evening, the leader, currently 12,430 miles from the finish, covered 389.6 miles.

 

"It's a sombre day today as we all wait for news on Yann's condition and his pending rescue. I know myself I have gone over the scenario a dozen times trying to contemplate such a situation and it is a bit overwhelming. I know all the skippers including me wish these was something more we could do but he is in good hands and I can only hope that the situation will improve from here. The high pressue system over my left shoulder is trying to capture me so I'm sailing as quickly as possible to get past Kerguelen and onto the next gate. I am expecting some more wind tomorrow from the NW which will help the situation. It's a bit of a light day today so I'm taking the opportunity to tidy the boat up, transfer fuel into the tanks and take the errant sea water out of the boat. No matter now water tight we think the boat is, it never ceases to amaze me how much sea water finds its' way into the different compartments that otherwsise are usually bone dry."
Derek Hatfield (Algimouss-Spirit of Canada) in his daily message

Jean-Pierre has managed to refit his starboard rudder and to fix it in place.  This tricky operation, which involved glueing the rudder to the transom is now over. One job out of the way for the "surgeon", who carried out this delicate operation in several stages.
The repair to the helm will take six hours to dry, during which no strain can be placed on the rudder. JP is therefore heading  heeled over at 30° on the port rudder to avoid any strain on the starboard rudder. He is due to set sail on his route later in the day.  It remains a jury steering system. He will have to wait 24h to know whether the rudder will hold in rough seas.