Maxi Banque Populaire IX arrives back in Casablanca

The Ultime class Banque Populaire IX is righted in Casablanca after being towed 130nm after her capsize © Banque Populaire IX

After being towed since last Sunday, the maxi trimaran Banque Populaire IX arrived on Tuesday afternoon in the port of Casablanca after a 130nm tow after capsizing on Saturday night off Morocco.

The 104ft Ultime class maxi trimaran had been on a training sail ahead of the singlehanded Route du Rhum across the Atlantic in November. The purpose of the practice was to give skipper and Vendee Globe winner Armel Le Cléac'h experience at sailing the yacht singlehanded.

A cameraman and technical team member were on board at the time of the capsize, which is believed to have occurred as a result of a sudden gust of wind. Windspeed was 18-20kts at the time of the capsize and moderate seas.

On Wednesday morning, the technical team rolled the foiling trimaran upright in order to be able to begin an initial diagnosis of the boat and will try to proceed with the repatriation of the vessel to her base in Lorient as quickly as possible.

Ronan Lucas, Director of the Team Banque Populaire gave an initial report via social media (translated and edited from French):

"The towing has lasted 48 hours because we have been extremely careful not to take the risk of further damage the trimaran.

"This morning we have righted the yacht with the help of a crane. This is our first opportunity to make an assessment of the damage. We can see that many parts of the bridge of central hull around the mast foot are damaged, even on the bridge of the floats and the fairings of crossbeams. Part of the caps [la casquettes] has been washed away.

"The clear objective is to return the boat in the water before the end of the summer and to allow Armel to prepare in good conditions to be at the start of the Route du Rhum in Saint-Malo."

The 38metre mast (125ft) mast was broken into several pieces during the capsize.