Jules Verne Trophy: Loss of rudder blade - "Sodebo's" record attempt fails
They were doing so well, but were unable to capitalise on the advantage they had gained: Thomas Coville and his crew have also had to abandon their latest Jules Verne record attempt after just over 16 days at sea. The team discovered their mishap before they had even passed Cape Leeuwin.
Jules Verne Trophy: no rudder blade, no record
While travelling at around 30 knots between the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Leeuwin in the Indian Ocean, they noticed that they had lost their central rudder blade. The crew contacted the shore crew for an initial rapid diagnosis. The team's sober conclusion was: "The damage does not allow the trimaran giant to continue the record attempt with 100 per cent of her capabilities."
The team agreed that the Jules Verne record could not be broken without the rudder blade. Accordingly, the crew abandoned the attempt that began at 21:34 on 20 December. Thomas Coville, Frédéric Denis, Pierre Leboucher, Leonard Legrand, Guillaume Pirouelle, Benjamin Schwartz and Nicolas Troussel set course northwards again to leave the ice zone.
Team Sodebo Vioile is planning a stopover that has yet to be finalised. Skipper Thomas Coville explained on Monday morning: "There was no noticeable shock, but we lost the rudder blade. The crew are very clear-headed and everything is going well for us. We can't continue in record mode and we don't think we should head into the Southern Ocean without a centre rudder blade."
Technical stopover in Australia
Commenting on the current situation, 56-year-old Coville said: "We're travelling at 25 knots and heading due north to try and escape a low pressure area. We plan to make a technical stopover in Australia to replace the rudder blade. Unfortunately, it's not sensible to do half a circumnavigation in record mode without a main rudder."
Commenting on the condition of his Ultim giant, Thomas Coville said: "The boat is in good general condition and we handled it well. We had built up something incredible. The pace was high and constant. We were happy with what we had achieved, even though the sea state was difficult in the last 24 hours. On land, the routing unit and the whole team in Lorient were also admirable during this attempt. I would like to thank them for all their work."
We have managed to make our audience dream with this extraordinary adventure." Thomas Coville
What remains after the cancellation? Thomas Coville says: "Of course, this cancellation is a disappointment for everyone. But it will also be instructive and instructive for the future of our team so that we can face our next challenges."
By then, Team Sodebo Voile had already fallen behind the record time set by Francis Joyon's "Idec Sport". Joyon and his crew had set the record in 2017 with 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds, which will now stand for the time being.
