Sail-World.com : Gitana Eighty leads Transat, Gitana 13 near Taiwan
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Gitana Eighty leads Transat, Gitana 13 near Taiwan |
Decidedly, The Artemis Transat is full of developments. The duel between Loïck Peyron and Vincent Riou was cut short late this afternoon when the latter alerted race management that he was requesting assistance following a keel problem with his monohull.
In fact, last night the skipper of the 60’ Vendée boat seemingly hit a basking shark, the impact damaging the appendage. The damage was such that Vincent Riou wished to abandon ship, no longer feeling safe with an impending storm forecast across the Imoca fleet tomorrow.
Being the closest to PRB, the second he was contacted the skipper of Gitana Eighty immediately diverted following a request from Sylvie Viant, race director. It was 1500 hours when Loïck Peyron altered his course. In order to simplify the transfer, Vincent Riou got into his liferaft, which he had securely fastened to PRB. The rescue operation was carried out efficiently and simplified by the particularly mild weather conditions at the time. At 1725 UT, Vincent Riou was aboard Gitana Eighty. The monohull in the colours of the LCF Rothschild Group was then able to make towards Boston again, and is now leading the fleet.
At the 1800 UT position report, Gitana Eighty had a 29 mile lead over Armel Le Cléac’h, the new pretender to victory in The Artemis Transat. However, in addition to the time conceded, which will be redressed following evaluation by the jury, Loïck Peyron will also have to get used to a new configuration.
A reluctant stowaway, Vincent Riou will not be able to help the sailor from La Baule under any circumstances, either in his manœuvres or in his choice of course. During the remaining 830 miles, that is nearly 3 and a half days at sea, the skipper of Gitana Eighty will have to consider himself as being alone aboard…: 'It's the first time I’ve ended up in such a situation: sailing double-handed in a single-handed race. It’s pretty disconcerting for the time being as I was right into a very precise rhythm, making decisions automatically and with a set routine… It’s not easy, but I’m now going to have to regain my focus in order to tackle the next stage, which still promises to be fairly complicated. However, the essential thing was to recover Vincent' confided Loïck Peyron just a few minutes after the rescue.
Tomorrow the jury for The Artemis Transat should return its verdict as regards the amount of time which will be redressed to Loïck Peyron and Gitana Eighty, for having diverted for the rescue. Whatever happens the race has now returned to centre stage.
During his first participation in the Vendée Globe (1989-1990), Loïck Peyron came to the aid of Philippe Poupon off South Africa, helping him to get the boat back into working order when the latter was over on its ear. Despite finishing second in Les Sables d’Olonne, this rescue in the high seas proved memorable.
Another tale of the high seas occurred in The Transat (former Ostar) this time: In 1984, Yvon Fauconnier went to the rescue of Philippe Jeantot after his capsize. The second to cross the finish line, ten hours and thirty minutes after Philippe Poupon, the skipper of Umupro-Jardin was proclaimed winner of this edition, since the jury had quite logically redressed the sixteen hours spent helping Philippe Jeantot.
http://www.gitana-team.com/en
Vincent Riou's account of the events
Joined this evening at 19h05 BST (18h05 GMT) by satellite phone, Vincent Riou onboard Gitana Eighty - following his rescue by Loick Peyron - came back on the events which led to his retirement.
'Last night at around 3:00 GMT, reaching rather fast, between 15 and 18 knots, I felt a shock which didn't worry me too much since it was violent but 'soft' - I didn't hear any carbon crack. I'm sure it was a shark, and actually I think I cut it in two since I saw two portions emerge at the back of the boat. I assessed the possible damage, and only saw a minor problem on the fairing of the keel box, nothing serious but anyway I slowed down a bit. I took advantage of the ridge we crossed today to stop and get a better look, and that's when I discovered one of the keel pins was missing. The keel was being held in place because it was canted and somehow stuck, but I didn't really want to face the gale expected for tomorrow on a boat whose keel could fall off at any time. I decided to contact Race Direction, and they called Loick to ask him to head towards my position (Ed note - Vincent asked for assistance at 15:00 GMT). Gitana Eighty was only 15 miles from me, I prepared the boat before leaving it. I filled the ballast tanks*, stacked the sails down below to lower the centre of gravity, activated the beacons and got ready. I took that decision quickly, knowing that the weather allowed for a safe operation. I inflated the raft, secured it to PRB and boarded it, then Loick made an approach and I climbed aboard Gitana Eighty. I don't really know what to say, it's like my arms just fell off (...) Now all I can do is make some phone calls to organise the salvage of the boat, which should be done in 2 or 3 days.'
Loick Peyron: 'I headed towards PRB when I was diverted by the Race Direction team, and when I arrived on the zone I approached under mainsail alone. Now this singlehanded transat is taking a peculiar turn aboard Gitana Eighty, but of course Vincent is not allowed to participate in any manoeuvre! The jury will have to decide how long the whole operation lasted, now my focus is to get back into the race'
* Lowering the centre of gravity ensures that even if the keel falls off, the boat will remain upright.
From The Artemis Transat media - OC Events. www.theartemistransat.com
Gitana 13 just 213 miles from Taiwan. Qingdao - Taïpei
Setting out from Qingdao late morning on Sunday 18th May - at 09h 58’19’’ UT - bound for Taipei, the maxi-catamaran in the colours of the LCF Rothschild Group is performing a more rapid descent towards the island of Taiwan than forecast, despite having to round a zone of high pressure. Indeed this latter zone has forced Lionel Lemonchois and his men to extend their course eastwards.
The crew of the maxi-catamaran have come out of this game of cat and mouse very well however: 'We had to put in a long 100 mile tack to the east following our gybe last night, in order to hunt down a steadier breeze. Once we hit this new air, we headed south again at the edge of the zone of high pressure. Another bit of good news has come in the return of the sun, which we haven't seen for way too long' joked Lionel Lemonchois.
Positioned 213 miles from Taipei at 1415 UT, the sailors of Gitana Team will have to bend their course towards the Japanese island of Ishigaki, situated 100 miles to the east of Taiwan, before heading towards their destination. The last stretch of the course is also shaping up to be fast thanks to a freshening SE'ly breeze.
http://www.gitana-team.com/en
by Gitana-Team media
11:11 PM Tue 20 May 2008 GMT
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