The Ocean Race: "Guyot" reaches Halifax - is there a chance of a comeback?
A sigh of relief at Guyot Environnement - Team Europe. The crew led by skipper Ben Dutreux and co-skipper Robert Stanjek from Berlin have reached a safe harbour around four and a half days after the mast break knockout. With navigator Sébastien Simon, Briton Annie Lush and Anbord reporter Gauthier Lebec, the crew moored at the dock in the Canadian harbour of Halifax on Saturday. Jens Kuphal, a member of Guyot's management team, happily announced: "Safely landed in Halifax!"
With a smart emergency rig to Nova Scotia
The crew returned to the harbour with a cleverly designed emergency rig. This showed that Optimist experience can also count on the high seas. The crew had converted the remains of the mainsail into a square spritsail similar to an Opti, which obviously worked efficiently. A converted mainsail batten served as a sprit. The orange-coloured storm jib in front of it was set as an additional emergency sail. In this way, the Imoca, whose mast had broken about 600 nautical miles east of Newport, reached an average speed of around seven knots on course for Halifax.
Team Guyot is still pondering the question of whether and how they can make a comeback on a tight budget after their second consecutive stage exit. Jens Kuphal said: "We'll decide on Monday. Actually, there's hardly a chance... actually." It remains exciting over the weekend. The thought of a possible fast ship transport to Europe is at least close at hand in one of the largest harbours in North America.
The north is calling...
In 2020, 549,242 containers were handled at the Port of Halifax. Between April and November, there is also lively cruise ship traffic here in addition to cargo handling. It was also the port of Halifax from which many ships rushed to the North Atlantic to rescue the passengers of the sunken "Titanic" in 1912. Can Halifax now become the port of departure for another comeback attempt for Team Guyot, the most long-suffering team in this 14th edition of the Ocean Race?
The fifth stage starts on 21 May. By then, it will at least be clear whether Kevin Escoffier's Holcim-PRB team has won the race against the clock after his mast breakage on leg four and can turn up at the start line with a strong replacement mast. It is not a completely normal transatlantic leg that awaits the Ocean Race quartet on the 3500 nautical mile section across the Atlantic. It is not - as is so often the case - to France, but to the sailing city of Aarhus.
North Atlantic, North Sea, Kattegat and Aarhus await
To do this, the field must pass Great Britain in the north, through the North Sea around Skagen and finally through the Kattegat to the Danish harbour. It is now certain that the crews will be welcomed by an enthusiastic audience in Aarhus. The Danish Fly-By in the last Ocean Race, several SailGP regattas and the 2018 Sailing World Championships for all Olympic classes in Denmark have impressively demonstrated the very high status of sailing in Aarhus.
