The Swiss driver's tale of woe thus takes on a new dimension: he also fails to finish the race at the third attempt. The jury justified their disqualification with the manoeuvre Stamm made during his anchor stop off Enderby Island in New Zealand. He was anchored there when it began to slip and he drifted towards a Russian research vessel that was also anchored there. According to Stamm, this was a dangerous situation, so he made radio contact with the captain of the ship. The skippers agreed that Stamm could go alongside with his Open 60 to defuse the situation immediately. Stamm must have remembered his tragic stranding in a similar situation during the last Vendée Globe in the Kerguelen Islands.
According to the jury, this alone was a clear violation of the ban on accepting outside help. But it got even worse. While Stamm was carrying out the manoeuvre, a Russian crew member from the research vessel jumped onto his Open 60 without being asked and began to pull up the anchor of "Cheminées Poujoulat". When Stamm realised this, he did not send the man off board. He explained that he was in a dangerous situation, as his boat was in danger of colliding with the research vessel, and that he was unable to explain the complicated situation to the man in the hectic rush of the moment. The boat was then safely alongside and Stamm repaired his faulty hydro-generator.
A few days ago, Bernard Stamm was bitterly critical of the technology on board his Open 60 and of himself in an e-mail from on board:
"We couldn't imagine that some parts of the hydro generators were so undersized. They are designed like a Lego toy, not a serious piece of equipment for a boat like this! Everyone always tells me that I can't be responsible for every part on board myself, that I have to hand over responsibility. But if I do, look what happens! I then have to bear the consequences alone. Next time I would take everything into my own hands! I'm really angry and I think it's justified. (...) When I look back, it's ultimately the container that we rammed during the Jacques Vabre transat. That simply set our preparation back too much."
Stamm has not yet released a statement on his disqualification.
UPDATE: The Swiss rider has since made a statement on his website and is seeking a retrial. The jury would not have understood that there was a risk of collision and that he had no other way to resolve the situation. Apart from that, he wants to finish the race, regardless of the jury's decision.
