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TJV Reports from Jocelyn Bleriot Reports | 11/08/05 | 11/11/05 | Our good friend Jocelyn Bleriot from Course Au Large files this stunner this morning from the TJV. It had been a rough start on Sunday for the multihulls, and all the models converged yesterday: the TJV fleet was definitely going to take a few punches when a cold front was to cross their path. "The wind keeps on getting stronger since this morning, said Franck Cammas on Monday, and it's going to be a tough ride tonight". And it sure has been…
At 3h15 GMT, Thomas Coville and Jacques Vincent turned Sodebo's distress beacon on - the trimaran's port float had bid farewell to the boat, and it did not take long for the mast to come down. The two men were sailing in 7-metre waves, doing 10 knots of boat speed under a very limited sailplan (from what we understood, 3 reefs in the main and the storm jib). But still that was not the end of the story since we learnt this morning (6h15 GMT) that Alain Gautier, project manager of the Foncia trimaran, had called race HQ to let them know that Armel Le Cléac'h and Damian Foxall, sailing near Groupama 2 (leading), had capsized while doing 10 knots on a W heading, in SW winds (35 to 45 knots). Armel also called Dr. JY Chauve, race medical issues coordinator, because apparently his co-skipper was suffering from a broken shoulder… At 8h00 GMT this morning, a helicopter was about to take off in order to rescue the Ravussin Bros. and at the same time the unfortunate injured Irishman. 4 trimarans are now out the race, since Brossard was the first to retire on Monday morning, after a major crack in the central hull was discovered. For the time being, all the monohulls (who left Le Havre 24 hours before the multis) are sound and safe, even though some had to head towards a harbour for repairs - this is the case for our pals Merf Owen & Kip Stone, who tore their mainsail aboard the 50' Artforms. A sudden shift to the NW is expected for today, and the guys who chose the northern option will be the first to experience it. Sea conditions are to remain tough for the day, but the wind will decrease gradually (down to 20/30 knots tonight), and the multihulls should catch up on the monos at the end of the day, according to Louis Bodin, race Weather specialist. Photo
of Orange in considerably better shape after the start courtesy Gilles
Martin-Raget. 11/08/05 Top Except for the above, everyone's now safely ashore… The Ravussin brothers even paid a visit to the TJV race HQ in Paris today. But as far as their trimaran's concerned, well here's what Stève said : "My team has set off to fetch the boat, but I don't really think she can be salvaged. We'll have to wait and see. The sea rips everything up. It's amazing. We can't just sit back and leave her there drifting around. It's not in our green nature.» Thomas Coville and Jacques Vincent, on their part, arrived in Douarnenez (Brittany) this morning aboard the trawler that has been towing the beaten-up Sodebo trimaran for 2 days now. Only the starboard float emerges from the water, the crossbeams that used to hold the lost float are completely drowned, while the central hull barely holds up to the surface. The trimaran will head back towards her base in La Trinité for further inspection as soon as the weather allows. Needless to say, Thomas & Jacques are very disappointed (These two are Jules Verne veterans, I must point out : Thomas was with Kersauson for the 97 winning campaign, Jacques with the pioneer crew of Peyron in 1993, along with Cam Lewis, and more recently aboard Cheyennne). I heard earlier today that the Foncia team had managed to get ahold of their capsized tri. We'll see what happens next - unlike the others, here the structure is intact, but the mast is broken. On the human side of things, Damian Foxall fortunately only suffered bad contusions, but nothing was broken aboard the strong Irishman. Who's a lucky guy, because during the capsize, he got caught between the boom (on his back, pressing him down) and a winch: fortunately, a wave moved the boom around, which allowed him to escape, otherwise damage could've been serious. On the racing side of things, Bidégorry & Lemonchois's Banque Populaire now leads the multis, while Peyron and Dick remain in first position in the Imoca fleet. Jocelyn Bleriot, Course Au Large 11/11/05 Top
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