GUYOT environnement - Team Europe: Faster repair than expected
by Offshore Team Germany 10 Mar 2023 07:39 PST
10 March 2023
After removing the Nomex honeycomb structure from the delaminated area, a foam was glued in and the area was re-laminated © Charles Drapeau / GUYOT environnement - Team Europe
The repair of the IMOCA yacht of GUYOT environnement - Team Europe has gone faster than expected.
After opening the hull in the delaminated area, no further damage was discovered, so that the work at the improvised construction site in Cape Town progressed so quickly that the yacht can already be painted this Friday. The transfer to Itajaí is planned for Thursday next week to be there in time for the start of the fourth leg of The Ocean Race on 23 April.
"The repair has progressed really well. The team did a very good, fast and strong job. The lamination work was completed this morning. Now a few more bumps will be filled and the laminated area will be in good shape, then the painters can start work," reported skipper Benjamin Dutreux.
From Monday, the team will then start craning the yacht back into the water, setting the mast and refitting the yacht. "We had an optimistic and a pessimistic plan for the work. Everything went according to the optimistic plan. I'm very proud of the team and can't wait to get to Itajaí and rejoin the fleet," said Dutreux, who is happy that there were no other surprises when the hull was opened: "Very cool. The damage has been limited to the area that the NDT survey showed. We took out the Nomex honeycomb material, replaced it with foam and laminated the area with five layers of carbon. On the inside, the yacht has been additionally reinforced."
On Thursday, the yacht is scheduled to set off from Cape Town on the passage to Brazil with Sébastien Simon, Phillip Kasüske from the sailing crew and Jimmy le Baut and Clovis Gautier from the tech team and onboard reporter Charles Drapeau.