 |
 |
 |
|
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fleet decreases during tough Rhum
ST MALO, France -- Strong headwinds and harsh seas have wreaked havoc at the start of the Route du Rhum leaving a trail of carnage along the coast of Brittany and the Bay of Biscay. Although the race ends in the tropical paradise of Guadeloupe in the Caribbean, it starts in early winter in the English Channel and takes the fleet across the notorious Bay of Biscay at a time when storms are prevalent. Most of the boats are highly sophisticated racing machines at the cutting edge of innovation and technology. In addition to numerous dismastings, capsizes and retirements over the seven editions of the race, two French sailors have also died. In the first race in 1978 Alain Colas and his boat Manureva disappeared in a tropical storm and in 1986 Loic Caradec was lost overboard when his 26m (85ft) catamaran Royale capsized. Fifty-eight yachts started from St Malo at the weekend. By the end of the third day at sea there had been 12 retirements and seven boats had headed to port to make repairs. ORMA 60 trimarans (18 on the start line) •Jean Luc Nelias/Belgacom: Heading to Port la Forêt to repair a mainsail car •Frédéric Le Peutrec/Bayer CropScience: Heading into Belle Ile to resolve automatic pilot problems •Jean Le Cam/Bonduelle: In Camaret repairing his hull following a collision with Groupama. Hoping to leave by Wednesday •Frank Cammas/Groupama: Retired due to capsize on November 10 •Lemonchois Lionel/Gitana X: Retired following damage to the top of the mast •Francis Joyon/Eure & Loir: Retired after capsizing off La Coruña on November 12 •Giovanni Soldini/TIM: Retired with structural problems •Bertrand De Broc/Banque Covefi: Retired for personal reasons •Yvan Bourgnon/Rexona Man: Retired after capsizing on November 13 Open 60 foot monohull class (17 on the start line) •Sébastien Josse /VMI: Retired due to dismasting •Loïck Pochet/La Rage de Vivre: Retired after collision with a freighter •Dominique Wavre/Tenemos: Retired after blowing out his jib Monohulls Class II (9 on the start line) •Yannick Bestaven/République Dominicaine: Stopped in Roscoff to repair mainsail. Stopping in Lorient for a second technical pitstop following the appearance of cracks in the hull •Jean François Durand/Défi Vendéen: Heading towards the Sables d'Olonne to repair a leak. Hoping to get back into the race •Christophe Huchet/Apic A3S: Retired after collision with a freighter. The boat was severely damaged and is being towed towards Brest. Huchet was picked up by a merchant vessel and dropped off in Brest. He has a dislocated shoulder and torn knee ligaments Monohulls Class III (5 on the start line) •Conrad Humphreys/Hellomoto: Back in the race after a technical pitstop in Roscoff •Régis Guillemot/Storageteck: Planning a technical pitstop in the Azores due to water in the diesel tank •Alain Grinda/Fantasy Forest: Technical pitstop in Roscoff. Damaged spreader and motor problem. Due to leave Wednesday afternoon Multihulls Class II (8 on the start line) •Patrick Morvan/Groupe France Epargne: Second technical pitstop in Roscoff •Pascal Quintin/E-Sat-Tri Sélectif: Retirement due to technical problems •Didier Levillain/Chaleur Fioul Elan: Retired due to electrics failure
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
