This morning the team of the top favourite "Charal" reported that the boat had hit flotsam with the rudder blade last night. Initially it was said that skipper Jérémie Beyou would be able to repair the damage at sea, but after the team analysed the damage with him in more detail, the Frenchman decided to turn around and sail back to Les Sables d'Olonne.
This means that one of the big favourites is as good as out of the race. After finishing third in the last edition, "Charal" was considered one of the fastest boats in the field, finished early and has become better and faster over the last year and a half.
The Frenchman doesn't want to give up just yet and is probably hoping for a small miracle, as Michel Desjoyeaux did in one of his two Vendée Globe victories in 2008/09, when he had to sail back shortly after the start for repairs after water ingress and electrical problems and actually managed to catch up with the field again and even win in the end. However, the Frenchman was very lucky back then because he had ideal wind conditions at the restart and the field was held up for a long time in the South Atlantic.
Andreas Fritsch
Editor Travel
