French sailor Benoît Sineau was confirmed safe on the evening of Saturday, November 7, following a distress operation in the Atlantic.
The skipper of the Class40 vessel Ekinox Rhétorès was unreachable for six hours after triggering his distress beacon, according to reports from Ouest-France.
Race officials confirmed that the rescue mission was successfully completed at 8:45 p.m. local time. The operation required the redirection of a cargo ship and two other competitors, including Jules Bonnier, who was piloting Plastic-Odyssey.
Jules Bonnier was the closest competitor to the site of the incident when the distress signal was received. He later told race organizers that he was approximately 36 nautical miles away, a distance that required about two and a half hours of sailing to bridge.
The sequence of events began when Sineau reached out to race doctor Thierry Charland regarding a minor finger injury. Soon after, the race management team contacted Bonnier to clarify that the situation had worsened.
“Francis Le Goff, the race director, explained to me that Benoît had problems,” Bonnier stated to the organization. “He told me that he had been in contact with his team, that there was water on board, and that he could not reach him.”
“Sometimes I couldn’t see him anymore because the waves were so huge,” Bonnier remarked, recounting the challenges faced during the approach.
The successful recovery of Sineau marked the conclusion of a high-stakes search effort that drew on both professional maritime resources and the assistance of fellow sailors. No further health concerns were reported regarding Sineau following his extraction.
The Route du Rhum continues for the remaining fleet, with race officials monitoring the participants' positions and safety.
The next official update from the race management team is expected as the fleet continues its progression toward the finish line.
