Just over 600 miles east of Newport, the mast of "Guyot" broke this morning. The team was sailing in tough conditions with wind speeds of over 30 knots.
After Team Biotherm had followed the leaders yesterday and jibed westwards, "Guyot" and co-skipper Robert Stanjek were able to make up ground in the east. This potential race to catch up has now come to a particularly bitter end with the mast breakage.
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NoneReplacement mast for "Guyot"?
The future of "Guyot" is still uncertain. Only a few Imoca teams have their own second rig. For this reason, the Imoca class has a spare part available from the manufacturer of the standardised masts, Lorima, in case of need. However, this is currently already being used for "Holcim - PRB" delivered for the next start. This is because the replacement mast is available to the team that first registers the need and pays the costs for the mast and transport.
Instead, however, the Franco-German team could borrow a mast from an Imoca team that is not an Ocean Race participant. As "Guyot" is in last place overall, a complete abandonment cannot be ruled out.
"There is no question that these conditions are destroying the boat"
11th Hour Racing onboard reporter Amory Ross had already spoken of the enormous strain on man and boat before the mast broke. His statement from last night gives a good insight:
"It's crazy out here. Unfortunately, our arrival in the Gulf Stream was greeted with 35 knots. A miserable combination that pushed us and the boat to the limit in no time.
There is no question that these conditions destroy the boat. What's more, the longer you stay, the worse they get. So we are under pressure to escape this low, which will only get worse.
And the only way to avoid it is to run headlong into a growing and turbulent swell that is typical of the north-easterly flowing Gulf Stream. We're hurtling straight towards breaking waves at 26 knots. You're never more alert than at times like this. It's rough sitting down, rough standing up, rough on your knees!
To be honest, it's a bit scary at the moment. Under three reefs and J3, there's very little we can do to reduce the power. We have to wait and see.
Another six hours until the front passes us to the south and we'll be over the hump. Next up are Biotherm and Guyot environnment - Team Europe, who will probably be in even worse shape than us. We're keeping our fingers crossed that everyone will be able to cope with the conditions and reach Newport, 800 miles away, safe and sound.
This stage has saved the worst for last!"
