The Frenchman, who was competing with his tri in the Rhum Multis class, i.e. the older multihulls, had to abandon his boat after first severely damaging his sails and then having an engine problem yesterday. He was already on his way to a port on the mainland when he was unable to manoeuvre the boat properly in the night in heavy seas and strong winds and had to be rescued by helicopter by the Spanish Coastguard. A short time later, the 54-year-old's red Tri ran aground off Ferreira.
The list of skippers with problems just didn't end last night. In the Class 40 class, Matthieu Perrant ("Inter Invest") collided with an unidentified drifting object and damaged his keel, rudder and bow so badly that he had to leave for the Azores. The rig of François Jambou's boat ("l'Aveugle - Trim Control") in the same class broke yesterday and he is trying to reach the mainland under emergency rigging. The third retirement in the Class 40 class was that of Jean-Pierre Balmes, who had to abandon the race due to problems with the ballast tanks of his boat "Full Save". A total of 21 boats out of 138 starters had to retire from the Route du Rhum. Sounds like a lot, but it's still nothing compared to the 2002 storm race, in which 48 per cent of the starters dropped out.
The Open 60s will be exciting before the lull
Meanwhile, the race for the Open 60s around Boris Herrmann is entering a tactically difficult phase. Tomorrow at the latest, the leading third of the boats will sail into a calm zone, which could shake up the classification considerably. The boats in the west around the leader Charlie Dalin seem to be making better progress. Some of them are still travelling at 10 to 12 knots, while the boats further east have already dropped below 10 knots.
Unfortunately, Boris Herrmann is one of them with his "Malizia - Seaexplorer", which has dropped back to 14th place and is still travelling at 9.2 knots. He reported from on board that he would use the low wind zone to repair his on-board computer and was looking forward to being able to go on deck again without heavy seas and an enormous amount of spray. The Hamburger just can't really get going.
All the skippers are eagerly awaiting the trade winds that are waiting behind the doldrums and should finally bring stable, fast and more favourable conditions. Herrmann, who hasn't really got going yet on this Route du Rhum, is also hoping for them. But at least he was able to close to within 20 miles of Romain Attanasio ("Fortinet Best Western"), who bought his old "Malizia" and who Boris is determined to leave behind by the finish.
Otherwise, little has changed in the Imoca field, Dalin has the lead, as usual, keeping the chasers at bay at a distance of almost 100 miles. The quartet of Jérémie Beyou ("Charal"), Thomas Ruyant ("Linked Out"), Paul Meilhat ("Biotherm") and Kevin Escoffier ("Holcim") are fighting doggedly for a podium place less than 20 nautical miles apart.
The Ultims shortly before the finish line
So while the Open 60s fleet still has to make its way to the trade winds, the Ultims already have the finish line in sight. The leader Charles Caudrelier has less than 500 miles to go to the finish. Chaser François Gabart came within 35 miles of the leader yesterday with his "SVR Lazartigue", but then the line to move his one foil broke and the repair took hours, during which the boat travelled more slowly. Today he is 85 miles behind, a good three hours' journey at the current speeds of the Ultims. Third in the group is Thomas Coville's "Sodebo", also around 90 miles behind Gabart.
Behind them is a curious duel: The last winner of the Route du Rhum, Francis Joyon and his "Idec Sport", and Yves Le Blevec's "Actual Ultim 3" are battling it out for fourth place. The two have been taking turns on the course for days, with less than 30 miles separating the boats. It's a kind of repeat of the final of the last Route du Rhum, where Le Blevec's current boat was François Gabart's old "Macif" and the two battled it out until just before the finish line, when Joyon finally won by an incredible 8 minutes. So both boats are still on an equal footing, just like their current skippers. What is amazing, however, is what has happened in the class since then; today Gabart is almost 700 miles ahead of the two with his new generation of foiling tri.
Meanwhile, the Class 40s are stuck in light winds in the Azores today after the passage of the storm front yesterday. Correntin Douguet, who was in the lead for a long time, reported problems with the engine of his "Queguiner Innoveao" and briefly considered calling at the Azores for a stop, but then decided to continue the fight for victory with Yoann Richomme ("Arkea Paprec"), even though energy problems cost him a lot of nerves.
In the 50-foot trimarans of the Ocean 50 class, the remaining six boats will probably reach the trade winds off the Canary Islands today and pick up some serious speed. Quentin Vlamynck and his "Arkema" are still in a commanding lead, followed by "Koesio" from Erwan Le Roux.
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Andreas Fritsch
Editor Travel
