Vendée Globe: Crack in the cylinder: Meilhat fights for his boat in the Pacific

The next scary news from the Vendée Globe: Paul Meilhat is fighting for his boat in the South Pacific. On Tuesday afternoon, the Frenchman was startled by an unusual noise coming from inside the "SMA". He discovered that oil from the hydraulic circuit had leaked into the watertight keel box. At first, Meilhat assumed that one of the pipes in the circuit was defective. But then he discovered a 40-centimetre-long crack in the hydraulic cylinder of the keel mechanism.

Meilhat immediately informed his team about the problem, which caused the tilting keel to tilt to leeward. Meilhat is now trying to block the system so that the keel moves back to the centre. To this end, he has dropped off and is sailing on a northerly course.

It is a serious setback for the likeable, powerful man from Brest - he has so far completed a race that was as spirited as it was successful. His duel for third place with Jérémie Beyou has been a constant source of tension recently. Meilhat trains with the legendary training group in Port-la-Forêt. Unlike many of his friends and rivals, Meilhat came to long-distance sailing via Olympic classes such as the Laser and the 49er. In the current Vendée, he is supported by none other than Michel "Le Professeur" Desjoyeaux and the Mer Agité Race team. The two sailors have trained together.

Similarly prominent is the now damaged "SMA", which carried François Gabart around the world the fastest in the last edition of the Vendée, setting a new record in the process. Meilhat is also known on the scene as an enthusiastic shanty singer and likes to perform his sea shanties when he wins a race. The winner of the Transat AG2R received the trust of his sponsor SMA and has so far more than repaid it with an outstanding performance. Should the crack in the hydraulic cylinder of the "SMA" now stop the 34-year-old, the race will lose a very strong skipper with great prospects for the future. But perhaps Meilhat will find a way to fix the keel and possibly work with buoys.