After the damage to a fixing part of the main forestay, the cable holding the mast at the front, which occurred on Sunday 25 October at 23:00 on Maître Coq, Jeremie Beyou and Philippe Legros, then in 4 e position, diverted to Roscoff. Arriving on site on Monday, October 26, the technical team and suppliers tried to analyze the situation and replace the defective part. But it was impossible to guarantee that despite the repair, the part would be strong enough to hold the road. Especially since the weather conditions forecast for the coming hours are based on strong winds (30 to 40 knots) and troughs with waves of 6 to 7 metres.
The decision to abandon the race was therefore taken. A decision shared by Stéphane Sallé, General Manager of Maître CoQ, for whom safety is a fundamental element.
"It's very hard for both of us, for the team, for the partners... But today the conditions are not met in terms of safety for people and equipment. We'll have to ask ourselves and analyse all this with the team. Today there are 2 scenarios depending on the conclusions we draw: either we take the boat to Saint-Barth to start the B2B Transat and test ourselves against the competition on equal terms, or we go back to the yard to sail earlier in 2016" said Jeremie Beyou.
And it's a two e Imoca who announced his withdrawal on Monday, October 26 at 20:30. Sebastien Josse and Charles Caudrelier, who have experienced a series of incidents aboard Edmond de Rothschild, have listened to their sense of the sea and wish to bring the latest Gitana to port. The Mono60 Edmond de Rothschild has turned around and headed for Lorient, its home port, which it should reach by late afternoon tomorrow.
Sébastien Josse explained the reasons for this abandonment . "Since this afternoon, we have had a series of incidents aboard Edmond de Rothschild. Taken separately, these problems remain minor and could eventually be solved if we had a milder weather that allowed us to tinker. But assembled and considering the weather conditions forecast for the next 48 hours, we know that these incidents could put us in the situation of major and dangerous damage for both men and the boat. The files announce more than 40 knots of wind and violent seas with waves of more than 7 metres. With Charles, tonight, we consider it irresponsible to bring the boat in these conditions. The boat was launched two and a half months ago and despite the remarkable work of all the members of Gitana to optimise this short set-up time, it is suffering from its youth. This abandonment was a very difficult decision to make, but it is out of the question to jeopardize the project. The construction of the Mono60 Edmond de Rothschild required more than a year's work and this boat was designed and built for the Vendée Globe, which remains the team's main objective with this unit. It's hard to have to give up, but we must not lose sight of our goal."
Today, at 4pm, the Class40 Club 103 (Alan Roura and Juliette Pêtrés) informed the Race Direction that it was heading towards Lorient following the breakage of its outside end and its damaged bow. The crew is expected to arrive tomorrow morning in the Breton port and quickly start repairs.
The damage continues as Safran (Morgan Lagravière and Nicolas Lunvenà have announced damage on board and are diverting towards Brest.
