Arkéa Ultim Challenge - Brest day 54 morning update
by Andi Robertson 29 Feb 01:52 PST
29 February 2024
Armel Le Cléac'h, a night of repairs, Coville due on finish line around 1300hrs today
Early yesterday evening, Armel Le Cléac'h, skipper of the Maxi Banque Populaire XI, reported that he had sustained damage of the foredeck of the boat which led to an ingress of water. After spending the night fixing the problem Armel is back up to higher speeds this Thursday morning. The Vendée Globe winner should finish on Sunday into Brest whilst next in will be second placed Thomas Coville, due today around 1300hrs UTC/1400hrs local HF.
It has been a long night of fixing for Armel Le Cléac'h. Around 1700hrs last night he told his team he had this leak in the main hull.
"He spent a large part of the night working to plug the gaps and evacuate as much water as possible," says assistant race director Pierre Hays. Maxi Banque Populaire XI was slow or stopped. Earlier this morning his team informed race management that he had managed to repair the problem. And so having been at 2.5 knots for part of the night, he is moving again at 23.4 knots at 0800hrs this morning.
Meantime Thomas Coville is expected around 1400hrs local tine on the finish line in Brest. And the two skippers still in the South Atlantic, Anthony Marchand (4th) and Éric Péron are facing the same problem as each other: areas of calm. Marchand on Actual Ultim 3 is closer to the coast and ULTIM ADAGIO is further offshore, both are progressing slowly and these calms should last between 24 and 48 hours.
Follow the race tracking on www.arkeaultimchallengebrest.com/en