Maxi Banque Populaire V damaged in crash with unidentified object
by Banque Populaire V on 4 Feb 2011

Banque Populaire V hit an OFNI - Jules Verne Record attempt SW
Banque Populaire V hit an OFNI* at 2 o'clock in the morning (Paris time) at a speed of around 37 knots. Damage has been reported to their crash box.
The maxi trimaran, with 14 crew onboard, is engaged in an attempt to beat the fully crewed Jules Verne record currently held by Groupama.
Pascal Bidégorry, the maxi trimiran's skipper spoke by telephone: 'This night, we immediately felt the effect of the shock but Banque Populaire V did not stop. We made the decision to stop down and check. We spent one hour in the black night checking, it was not easy to examine the damage. What is sure is that the crash landing-box is torn off.
'We decided to slow down and to stabilize our speed to 25 knots and to leave a minimum of drift in the water in order not to make things worse. '
Full report in French
here.
* Object Floating Not Identified
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