A serious navigational error could cost the Danes and their experienced skipper Chris Nicholson the race, but in any case this leg is over for them.
The last position report on the Volvo Ocean Race Tracker This afternoon German time suggested problems. Vestas' bow was pointing south-east, and the last recorded speed was 1 knot.
As the race committee confirmed on Saturday evening, the VO-65 ran aground on a reef near Saint Brandon about 250 nautical miles north-east of Maritius, a widely scattered group of islands with numerous shallows.
The crew is in good health and currently not in danger, it was reported. They will wait until dawn to be rescued.
At 10 pm, the Volvo Ocean Race headquarters announced that both rudders were broken and that Vestas was taking on water via the stern. Nevertheless, the condition is stable and the rest of the boat, including the rig, is intact. Whether the 65-foot yacht can be salvaged and subsequently repaired quickly enough in this sparsely populated region seems doubtful to say the least.
At worst, the Volvo Ocean Race could be over for Vestas on this second offshore leg. It would be a nightmare for the crew and their sponsor.
The cause of the grounding is not yet known. At the time of the accident, Vestas was sailing the most easterly course of all the Volvo teams; it cannot be ruled out that it was a catastrophic mistake by navigator Wouter Verbraak.
Team Alvimedica is on standby near Vestas to assist if necessary. A coastguard station just one nautical mile away, which has a lifeboat, is also on standby. Their rigid-hulled inflatable boat will be used to rescue the crew at dawn on Sunday morning.
The current incident is not the first grounding of a yacht in the Volvo Ocean Race. In the 2008/09 race, "Telefonica Blue" skippered by Bouwe Bekking (now competing again on "Brunel") collided shortly after the start of the 9th stage at the end of June off Marstrand with a rock. Serious damage necessitated extensive repairs. Simon Fisher was the navigator on board at the time. He is currently sailing as the overall leader on Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and will be best placed to understand how the team on Vestas is feeling at the moment.
Update at 11.20 pm:
The team has deployed two life rafts, which are positioned about 15 metres away from the yacht and can be reached by the crew in an emergency. The stern of the yacht has hit the reef several times. The crew is fighting against water ingress. The bow is pointed towards the sea. At shortly before 10 p.m., however, there were still no plans to abandon the boat. The crew is still planning to abandon ship at first light with the help of the coastguard and Team Alvimedica.
Update at 11.59 pm:
Team Alivimedica's navigator Will Oxley reports on the situation: "We are in radio contact with Team Vestas every 30 minutes while we wait for dawn. By then the coastguard should be able to mount an effective rescue operation. In the meantime, I'm sure it's good for them to know that we are on standby and ready to pick them up from their life rafts in case they have to abandon their boat during the night and reach deeper waters where we can move safely.
We have recovered our sails and are motoring forwards and backwards on the lagoon side of the reef. We try to stay as close as possible to the crew as long as they need assistance. We can't get closer than 1.8 nautical miles to them because they are sitting right on the reef. But if they get into the life rafts, then we may be able to help with the recovery. We may also be able to help after the rescue, but we are waiting for instructions."
For these reasons, we are no longer sailing towards Abu Dhabi. But we have not given up the race. In accordance with international maritime law and the fundamental rule 1.1 of the International Racing Rules, we remain on standby 'to provide all possible assistance to any person or vessel in danger'.
The guys on Vestas are our friends and many of us have sailed thousands of nautical miles with them. We will stay with them for as long as it is possible for us to help them."
+++ Further updates will follow on YACHT online as soon as more information is available +++
