Vigo (Pontevedra)
Updated:03/12/2020 18:04h
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Fifteen IMOCAs have already passed the length of the Cape of Good Hope eastward into the choppy southern waters of the Indian Ocean; headed by the “Apivia and flanked by the” LinkedOut “and” Bureau Vallée 2 “.
Charlie Dalin, in first position, has decided to head towards the northeast of his route with the «Apivia escaping from the strong winds that are further south in which the« Bureau Vallée 2 »continues to navigate; standing in front of the route that takes the «LinkedOut» in third position.
Weather conditions in the roaring Indian forties are still harsh: “I got used to the regatta, I fine-tune my maneuvers with the sails and curls, I have more and more precise markings in the setting of my sails and strong winds have become a habit”, explains the Pattern of «APIVIA», adding that its “Sea reading has improved” which makes their trajectories more efficient and “in line with their sail setting”. “I am not yet in a decisive part of the regatta, it is too early and my main concern is to take the boat in good condition to Cape Horn to be able to navigate correctly in the last section: the climb to the Atlantic”.
Despite his leadership, Dalin remains pragmatic after sailing some 9,450 miles of the Vendée Globe course: “The Indian is so hostile to me”. And he has thoroughly prepared his meteorological analysis for this solo round the world tour. Before the start of the regatta, he was preparing with Jean-Yves Bernot (trainer in meteorological strategy at the Pôle Finistère Course au Large), with the “Druid of strategic navigation”.
The next large group of pursuers is commanded from port Jean Le Cam (in sixth position), who after the rescue of Kevin Escoffier has returned to battle, has Boris Herrmann on starboard with the «Sea Explorer», Benjamin Dutreaux in the “OMIA Water Family”, Yannick Bestaven patronizing the “Maître CoQ IV” and Damien Seguin who is fourth overall with the “Groupe Apicil”. A quintet of IMOCAS in which the majority are those who do not carry “hydrofoils” compared to those who do (“Sea Explorer” and “Maître CoQ IV”).
Sébastien Simon, who was in the rescue operation of Kevin Escoffier, and later the starboard “hydrofoil” of his boat “Arkea Paprec”, is analyzing when he will be able to repair the damage and continue racing.
“I’m a little upset, upset. I want to complete this round the world tour, I don’t think I deserve it, I think it’s an incredible injustice.
The foil is damaged but the structural part of the foil has not been rotated. I can’t use it as is. This damaged the lower part of the hydrofoil well, separating the interior of the hull and causing a leak. The only way to solve this problem is to cut the foil into pieces, which weighs almost 300 kilos and I cannot cut it on the outside. I have to cut it from above. To be successful in repairing this, I must cut it into pieces and then plug the hole on the outside and inside. From the outside I have to lean out of the boat, but for that I need stable sea conditions, and that is not the case today, nor in 12 hours, nor in 24 hours. Then I am forced to approach an area of land. In addition to that, the aft bulkhead under the cockpit is damaged; I don’t know if it’s related, if it’s collateral damage or not. I realized this when I went to empty some water. I know that the day before it did not break, and that today it is. And since problems never happen by themselves, I have a broken rudder shaft joint. So every two hours I have to pump for 40 minutes under the bathtub floor, which is not a pleasant place at all. “
On board Samantha Davies’ “Initiatives Coeur” the breakdowns are also quite serious. At the moment, today Friday at 4:00 p.m. (December 3, 2020) it is heading north towards Cape Town. At 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, San Davies informed his shore team that he had collided with a floating object, which was heading north at little speed to inspect the ship and assess the damage, which was fine.
This morning Davies explained the real dimension of the breakdown on board the Initiatives Coeur: “I had gybed behind the front, there were 30 knots of wind, I was sailing between 15 and 22 knots of speed with a difficult sea. Suddenly the ship stopped short. There were creaks. I flew, everything was flying inside the ship, including my dinner. It was violent, it hurt me, my ribs hurt. I immediately dropped everything to stop the boat. He had previously said that it was against a floating object, but I don’t know what it was. I looked directly around the head of the keel and immediately realized that it was not the foil but the keel.
The keel supports are okay, but the keel shaft longitudinal bulkheads are cracked. It was at this point that the impact was absorbed. I did checks, I have the ground crew working with the designers. I advance towards Cape Town to take refuge, I am downwind, but the sea is quite rough. I am 230 miles from the Cape of Good Hope.
I was reducing water that entered through the rubber bellows that seals the well of the head of the tilting keel and the hydraulic arm that moves it ”.
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