Route du Rhum - IMOCA Class not spared breakage in inital phase

by Leslie Greenhalgh on 6 Nov 2014 The IMOCA class, like the other competitors, has not been spared of breakage during the initial phase of the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe. With the retirement of Vincent Riou (PRB) and Bertrand de Broc (Votre Nom autour du Monde), it has lost two vastly experienced sailors. For Tanguy de Lamotte (Initiatives Cœur), his brief pit stop means that he’s now managing his race rather differently and his primary objective now is to get to the other side.

On setting sail, everyone was fearful of sudden breakage, which would call for the boat to divert in the best-case scenario, or put paid to their ambitions at worst. To date, three sailors have had to pay in cash. For Tanguy de Lamotte, it was an unexpected encounter with floating debris, which severely damaged his port rudder. Bertrand de Broc has had to throw in the towel due to injury, whilst Vincent Riou has suffered major material damage in the form of a bulkhead ripping out level with his mainsail track. All are well aware that sailing is a mechanical sport and a transatlantic race is not a Formula 1 Grand Prix: in one case, it’s a question of months of preparation, which essentially all come down to one or two major events in a season.

In the other, it amounts to an hour and a half of competition, which comes to grinding halt and can sometimes be brought back into play the following weekend. Inevitably the disappointment is in line with how much has been invested and this is particularly true when the damage occurs at the start of the race, before anyone has been able to show what they are made of against their rivals. In principle, the fleet is now set to encounter more manageable conditions. There will still be little cuts and grazes and odd bits of DIY, but these will more likely be down to the repeated wear and tear of gear rather than chance. We can but hope too that the fleet has already paid the debt in terms of breakage and that the seven competitors still on the racetrack will reach Pointe-à-Pitre damage-free.

Breakage - Quotes from the boats prior to the start:

Vincent Riou (PRB): 'Like everyone else, I fear collision and material damage. Given my experience, there’s not a lot else that overwhelms me. What is really scary is not being able to complete the race.'

Alessandro Di Benedetto (Team Plastique - AFM Téléthon): 'The worst thing is colliding with other boats or floating objects, because there’s not a lot you can do about it.'

Armel Tripon (For Humble Heroes): 'Dismasting, breakage… The initial aim is to complete this race. Unfortunately, breakage is part and parcel of what we do.'

Tanguy de Lamotte (Initiatives-Coeur): 'What you’re afraid of is not being able to deal with a situation. You know that you’re exposed to a great many elements, from material damage to collisions with UFOs… That’s the name of the game, but it’s not something you want to go through.'

Bertrand de Broc (Votre Nom Autour du Monde): 'In the first two days of racing, what I’m most afraid of is a collision. Today, amidst AIS, radar and transponder, we have three electronic alarms on top of keeping a visual watch. As far as the rest of it goes, I think I’ve seen it all… Let’s not forget that the Bay of Biscay is the best place to break a boat.'

Marc Guillemot (Safran): 'Breakage, when it translates as not being able to finish the race in the usual manner. I don’t know anyone who has a philosophical approach to that.'

Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée): 'What I dread the most is collision. It’s already happened to me (in the Route du Rhum 2010 and the Vendée Globe 2012) and you really have a rough time of it.'

François Gabart (MACIF): 'Breakage obviously. Not just mine: I don’t like it when it affects a fellow competitor, who I’ve been battling with either.'

Jérémie Beyou (Ma^itre CoQ): 'Besides breakage, I find it tough to cope with being in a quandary, either through an event at sea or a navigational error. When you’re forced to make a pit stop and you find yourself at the back, psychologically it’s hard to get back into the swing of things.'

Race round-up: teasing the curves

The IMOCA fleet has opted to take the shortest route by flirting with the curved outline delimiting the Azores High, the aim obviously being to slip below the anticyclone in the hope of hooking onto the tradewinds. This operation is something the Ultimes have managed to pull off relatively seamlessly, but for the IMOCA monohulls, which don’t boast the same speed potential, things will be a lot trickier. Indeed, François Gabart (MACIF), the most westerly of the competitors, has turned out slightly to make more ground to the south: getting too close to the high means you risk getting ensnared in the calm conditions. Of note is the fact that Jérémie Beyou (Maître CoQ), despite being handicapped by a torn solent, has made up over 15 miles on the leader overnight thanks to being positioned a tad further south. Up till now the routes of the IMOCA fleet had remained extremely similar. The minute options over the next two days could prove decisive for the next stage of the race. Great oaks from little acorns grow…

Behind the top trio, MACIF, Maître CoQ and Safran, an almighty battle is in prospect between Armel Tripon (For Humble Heroes) and Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée). Still young, these two IMOCA skippers with two boats of similar potential could well write an epic tale of competition as they become embroiled in a healthy Ocean IMOCA Class