The day after the launch of the race on Wednesday in Saint-Malo, the skipper of “Banque-Populaire-Xe” is forced to return to Lorient to repair. The leader is suspected of having crossed the starting line too early.
by Jean-Louis le Touzet
At the end of the first thirty hours of racing, a turning point of the race has just unrolled in the ultimate class, these Maxi Trimarans à foils. Banque-Populaire-XI, Armel Le Cléac’h, one of the contenders for victory, who occupied second place behind Edmond-de-Rothschild, led by master since the departure by Charles Caudrelier, was forced To rally Lorient to repair a broken drift under the hull bottom. Thursday at the end of the day, it was impossible to say if the skipper will throw in the towel or leave, repair carried out in Lorient.
The other major fact of the day also concerns the ultimate class. Charles Caudrelier and his Trimaran are among the 16 boats that have bitten the starting line, which disputes – like three other boats – his team on the ground, on the basis of the computer traces of the Trimaran.
If he is put in the jury’s decision, Caudrelier (victim for twenty-four hours of food poisoning) would be led, by Saturday, to achieve a penalty of four hours, namely to go to two Tops “the same segment” in this period of time. In short, make circles in the water…
Sam Goodchild injured
In Class40, Yohan Richomme (Paprec-Arkea), a big favorite with Corentin Douguet (Quebecigner-Innoveo), immediately warned that he had bitten the line, preferred to make his penalty, taking advantage of weather conditions that were not going Offer his return to the Best Peloton.
Four hours of penalty, it is between 80 and 100 miles of disbursement at the scale of these flying boats. Nothing crippling at the scale of a crossing of the Atlantic on swallowing machines. This disbursement could then place François Gabart (SVR-Lazarigue) in mind, less salient than you could have imagined on these early hours. It seems that not having sailed in fleet since the beginning of the architectural “schism” which has smashed from the inside the ultimate class especially deprived Gabart of the contact of the best (enemies?) In training, reducing his Margin of progression.
On the Ocean Fifty side, the fleet has been private since the departure of one of its most talented animators, the British Sam Goodchild (Leyton), injured in the hands and the face by a return of Winch. Hospitalized in Saint-Malo, he published photos of him swollen face and damaged hands.
The fleet of these 15 -meter multihulls is equivalent sporting level. Compact (30 miles separate the first from the sixth, spread longitudinally), it mainly played an equal game with the old ultimate of Francis Joyon and Arthur Le Vaillant. She chose a more guaranteed south road. No question, on these bicycle boats but fickle, to make a more direct road which would pass through the west, where winds of 50 knots are expected.
The bulk of the Imoca fleet (Ruyant, Burton, Beyou, Escoffier, Mettraux, Meilhat, the Cadors) took a southern road. Since the cannon shot, she has been under the yoke of Charlie Dalin (Apivia). The latter sometimes progresses two knots faster than all of its competitors. A feeling of helplessness which must be painful to collect, so much its superiority seems to be overwhelming. Thursday evening, we deplore four abandons.