On Friday afternoon, the Imoca, which has sailed such a strong, even dominant race so far, was north-west of Cabo Frio, around 110 nautical miles from Rio de Janeiro. Speed over ground: 2.7 to 4 knots. At least that's what the tracking data from Marine Traffic shows.
More is not possible at the moment. This is because diesel supplies are limited. Boris Herrmann estimates that the teams have only filled around a quarter of the 200-litre tank for stage four, plus a further 40 litres as an emergency supply in sealed canisters. With a consumption of four to five litres per hour and a speed under engine of around five knots, this will not last until Rio de Janeiro.
The team therefore set up an emergency rig yesterday from the lower part of the mast, which was preserved after the top swivel of the J2 forestay presumably broke and the wing profile subsequently came from above. The mast broke into several pieces. The sailors were only able to save the deck spreaders, main boom and the stub that now carries the storm jib.
Holcim PRB" will arrive in Rio tomorrow, Saturday evening, at the earliest. The team outlined what will follow to the organisers today. The replacement mast is to be shipped to the boat. The transport will be arranged by GAC Pindar, a logistics company specialising in sport and sailing in particular, which is also a partner of The Ocean Race and brings the most necessary equipment for all teams to the ports of call by air freight container.
There are two options for Holcim, but only one of them really makes sense:
1. the mast is transported to Rio de Janeiro by air freight
This would be the fastest and safest option. The rig would be in Rio within a few days. "Holcim PRB" could sail behind the fleet with a new mast and mainsail, cross the point at which the team had interrupted the leg and would thus be back in the classification.
This would secure Kevin Escoffier a point for 5th place in Newport and, with luck, he could even take part in the In-Port Race, the overall ranking of which decides who wins The Ocean Race in the event of a tie between several teams.
Costs: around 500,000 euros for the transport plus 300,000 euros for the replacement mast. Not even the best-funded teams have that much money parked away "just in case". It is therefore quite possible that main sponsor Holcim, a world-class Swiss building materials manufacturer, will extend its commitment at short notice. It would be a brilliant PR move, especially if Kevin Escoffier wins the race in the end.
2. the mast arrives in Rio by freighter
According to all the information and estimates available to YACHT, this is the cheapest option, but also the least likely, because it is the riskiest. This is because the transport route is long; the pure journey time alone takes around two weeks or more - and it would have to be possible to find space on deck for a 28-metre mast or three flat-rack containers at short notice, as a senior logistics manager from Malizia sponsor Kühne + Nagel in Hamburg said when asked by the editorial team.
Even if the preparation and rigging of the replacement mast in Rio could be completed within a day, there would not be enough time to make it to Newport in time for the start of leg five.
In addition to dozens of halyards, spreaders and release lines for the halyard locks, the cables for the wind sensor, top light, mast cameras, radar and load sensors also have to be pulled into an Imoca mast, as do the lashings for stays and shrouds. The conscientious preparation of a rig therefore normally takes several days. Only the rigging itself can be completed in half a day under time pressure. However, the boat is not yet really ready to sail.
Let's do the maths again: the start of the next leg is on 21 May. In order to complete at least the most rudimentary checks, the boat has to be in Newport by 20 May at the latest. That leaves 22 days net.
If the cargo ship with the replacement mast were travelling for 14 days, needed no time for unloading and left today, Team Holcim would only have eight days to bring the boat under sail to Newport.
This is impossible to achieve at a distance of more than 4,000 nautical miles, as it requires an average speed of more than 20 kts - Imocas don't even sail that fast in the Southern Ocean. But here we still have to pass the calms.
Even with a fast-moving Cargo Express, the ship transport remains a game of vabanque if Team Holcim wants to sail the all-important, double-counted leg from Newport to Aarhus - and Kevin Escoffier has to do that to keep his chances of overall victory alive.
It is astonishing how little the team is currently communicating about the rescue mission. One reason may be that the overall logistics are very complex, that there are no routines, no plan B for such an eventuality. Ad hoc management is required, and this has to be coordinated between the skipper, team management, sponsor, race management and transport company.
Just getting the technicians required for rigging and any necessary repairs to the boat to Rio from their holidays and from all over the world is a huge organisational and financial feat. It may not even be clear today exactly how and when the replacement mast will be loaded.
It is therefore quite understandable that Team Holcim will only start the against-all-odds epic once all eventualities have been clarified. It will undoubtedly be an exciting story!
Meanwhile, little is happening in the actual race on leg four. All boats are currently sailing at a distance of less than ten miles. "Malizia - Seaexporer" is still in second place, albeit only just ahead of "Biotherm". The teams still have about a day of light wind ahead of them before they reach the foothills of the south-east trade winds. Then begins a "motorway stage" to the north, where only one thing counts: Speed!
Jochen Rieker
Herausgeber YACHT
