Vendée Globe – Thomas Ruyant faces ingress of water

by Vendée Globe on 7 Dec 2016 Shortly before 0700 UTC this morning, Thomas Ruyant - Le Souffle du Nord pour le Projet Imagine – informed his boat captain, Laurent Bourguès, that damage to the boat had led to an ingress of water.

While operating his port ballast tank system, the end of the snorkel tube, which allows him to fill the tank when the boat is at speed, broke off without causing any further damage to the hull. Thomas immediately saw that a lot of water was coming inside the boat. He quickly blocked the leak with bags and anything else he could find within reach.

He immediately gybed to move to the port tack to keep the hole out of the water. Thomas has already managed to dry out part of the boat and is dealing with the situation.

With the support of Laurent Bourguès, he is currently looking for the best way to stem the flow of water. He has the required equipment on board.

Le Souffle du Nord pour Le Projet Imagine is currently experiencing 30-40 knot winds and heavy seas (3-4 m high waves).