Friday the 13th has seen the boats battered and damaged, and struggling to keep in the race!
Video © Alex Thomson. All Rights Reserved. Via YouTube.
Alex Thomson and Ross Daniel broadcast from HUGO BOSS in the North Atlantic on Day 5 of the Transat Jacques Vabre 209. The boat is currently sailing in 55 knots of breeze (Force 9) and both skippers are in survival mode. The lead boat, BT, has activated her distress beacon this morning, and are out of the race. The rescue operation is in progress.
Video © Ocean-Fanatics. All Rights Reserved. Via YouTube
We also have news from Sam & Sidney on Artemis Ocean Racing. The following information is taken from the Transat Jacques Vabre website: " Reports from Sam Davies and Sidney Gavignet's Artemis shore team suggest they are weighing up the idea of a pit stop in the Azores.
Sam Davies called the shore team at 1030 GMT this morning to report:
“We have lost a mainsail batten (third down from the top) which flew out of the sail, the third reef pin on the boom has gone and our main Iridium handset is broken, either water-logged or from the shock of the boat pounding through the waves.”
None of the damage is terminal, their press statement says, but the loss of the mainsail batten will compromise their race performance, and with 75% of the race remaining, Davies and Gavignet are said to be...
...."considering a pit stop either at the Azores, which lies 300nm upwind, or Madeira 400nm south-west which is a more comfortable course but further from the optimum race route." "
Official Race Positions - Ranking on 13/11/2009 à 17:00
IMOCA - 14 registered
Rank Boat / Sailor
1 SAFRAN Marc Guillemot - Charles Caudrelier Benac
2 MIKE GOLDING YACHT RACING Mike Golding - Javier Sanso
3 GROUPE BEL Kito De Pavant - François Gabart
4 HUGO BOSS Alex Thomson - Ross Daniel
5 VEOLIA ENVIRONNEMENT Roland Jourdain - Jean Luc Nélias
6 1876 Yves Parlier- Pachi Rivero
7 AVIVA Dee Caffari - Brian Thompson
8 W HOTELS Alex Pella - Pepe Ribes
9 FONCIA Michel Desjoyeaux - Jérémie Beyou
10 AKENA VERANDAS Arnaud Boissières - Vincent Riou
11 ARTEMIS Samantha Davies - Sidney Gavignet
12 DCNS Marc Thiercelin - Christopher Pratt
ABD BRIT AIR Armel Le Cleac'h - Nicolas Troussel - Retired
NL BT Sébastien Josse - Jean François Cuzon - Position unknown
Classe Multi50 - 6 registered
Rank Boat / Sailor Latitude Longitude Speed Cap Dist. But Dist. 1er
1 REGION AQUITAINE-PORT MEDOC Lalou Roucayrol - Amaiur Alfaro
2 GUYADER POUR URGENCE CLIMATIQUE Victorien Erussard - Loic Fecquet
3 PRINCE DE BRETAGNE Hervé Cleris - Christophe Dietsch
ABD ACTUAL Yves Le Blevec - Jean Le Cam - Retired
NL CRÊPES WHAOU ! Franck Yves Escoffier - Erwan Leroux - Position unknown
ABD FENETREA-CARDINAL Alain Maignan - Nicole Harel - Retired
The race is constantly changing as the skippers battle the extreme challenge of this harsh weather. We will keep watching the progress of the race. Watch this space...!
Race positions and Artemis quotes from the Jacques Vabre website - All Rights Reserved
