Arkea Ultim Challenge: Details of the crash, Caudrelier today at the Cape of Good Hope
Andreas Fritsch
· 19.01.2024
Laperche spoke for the first time today and reported on how the crash with flotsam happened yesterday:"It worked pretty well all night. I had found some good sail and trim configurations and we weren't going too fast or too slow, with a good average speed of around 35 knots. Then, at the end of the night, there was suddenly a huge bang and a violent impact. As the centreboard had hit the flotsam, the underside of the hull was damaged and in a fraction of a second water entered the central section. I looked around the boat and realised that it was still manageable. We had to slow down as much as possible and take in the sails. Now we have to get the boat back as undamaged as possible."
So it seems that it is not the foil of the leeward hull that is affected, but the centreboard of the main hull.
"It's super tough now, for the boat, for me and the whole team, with all the people who have worked to make the trimaran'SVR Lazartigue' and that after ten days of racing we were at the front of the fleet on a round-the-world trip. We now have to get through the next four days at sea without things getting any worse. I've managed to steer the boat in the right direction and I'm not going to sail too fast. I will monitor the water level and movements of the centreboard. We still have 35 knots of wind, but it should die down during the day and the sea should become calmer."
In the Live tracker However, "SVR Lazartigue" has slowed down considerably in the last hour, is now only travelling at around 7 knots and has headed south, hopefully not because the situation on the stricken boat has deteriorated. Laperche still has just under 1,000 miles to go to Cape Town, at his speed yesterday that would have been four days, and if he slows down significantly, this will of course be extended accordingly. The team has organised his departure to Cape Town immediately and will be waiting for the skipper there or, if necessary, drive out to meet him.
Meanwhile, the leader Charles Caudrelier is heading towards the Cape of Good Hope, which is just under 500 miles away. At his current speed of around 35 knots, this would mean that he would pass it in the early afternoon. He was saddened by the news of the "SVR Lazartigue" accident:
"Sad news this morning. Tom has announced that he had a problem with his boat. It looks like the damage is serious. We had a great competition which was incredible for someone who is only 25 years old. I can still remember what it was like when I was 25. But I wouldn't have been able to handle a boat like that. Even now at almost 50 ... pfft. To cheer myself up, I treated myself to a monkfish curry. I know Armel has some too, so I hope he likes it. And I have the advantage of less pressure this morning. I don't have to pay as much attention to speed as before, when Tom was there. I used the moment to tidy things up and give the boat a once-over. We were travelling at a crazy pace. Now the atmosphere has changed. And the way we sail."
Meanwhile, Thomas Coville with "Sodebo Ultim3" is trying to keep up with the leader further to the north of the depression. After a slower day yesterday, he has become a little faster again, but his gap has grown to just over 900 miles and he is sailing almost 10 knots slower than Charles Caudrelier. His course line takes him quite close to "SVR Lazartigue", which is still about 100 miles ahead of him.
Behind them, Anthony Marchand's "Actual Ultim 3" and Armel Le Cléac'h's "Banque Populaire XI" have finally almost circumnavigated the high that was blocking their path to the south-east. But they have had to sail a diversion of almost 500 miles, the bow is still pointing south, the VMG is low and their deficit has grown to over 2,300 miles. And a major high is developing ahead of them, which could slow them down even further. So the prospects of making up miles on the leaders are not good.
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Andreas Fritsch
Editor Travel
