It's been 48 hours since Sébastien Josse, despite being third in the overall rankings, has put the race on hold to concentrate on the safety of his boat. On 4th December 2016, he suffered major damage to his starboard foil and the conditions over the past two days did not allow him to make a proper assessment of the situation. Indeed, Sébastien Josse had to face extreme weather conditions 40 knots of wind and 8 metre waves in the South of Australia, along the Antarctic Exclusion Zone.
On Wednesday 7th December, conditions improved and the Gitana Team skipper was able to assess the damage suffered by his boat. Unfortunately, he was unable to find repair solutions which would enable him to hold out for more than half a round the world voyage, or around 15,000 miles. It is therefore death in the soul that the skipper is retiring from the race.
The big favourite of this 8th edition was taking part in the race for the 3rd time and is extremely disappointed, as are his team and his owners. " My world for the past month has been one of constant doubt to be efficient! So the decision to give up was inevitably very difficult to take, but it was well thought out and assumed by everyone. Dealing with disappointment is going to last for weeks, months... because it's not just the fact of stopping the race, it's everything behind it: the passion, energy and commitment that we all put into such projects. On the Vendée Globe We're sailing single-handed but more than ever it's a collective project. I'm lucky to be able to rely on a very fine, solid and dedicated team, whom I can never thank enough, and to have the confidence of Ariane and Benjamin de Rothschild, as well as the Edmond de Rothschild Group, who support us and are always at our side in good times and bad, as they are today" confided Sebastien Josse.
"While competition is the essence of offshore racing and the engine for the majority of sailors and their teams, the absolute priority remains the safety of the men and their boats. There are inevitably risks involved in setting off on a solo round the world voyage without stopovers and without assistance, but they are accepted with a certain amount of control. It's a very hard blow for our team, we're all very disappointed, but we're going to move forward quickly and the project that awaits us - the maxi-multihull - is an opportunity in that respect" declared Cyril Dardashti, the director of the Gitana Team.
Sailing at 41° South and 107° East, the Mono60 Edmond de Rothschild is currently making for Australia. The members of the Gitana Team are working on the best option and during the course of the day will determine Sébastien Josse's destination, which could be Perth, to the SW, or Adelaide, on the South coast, depending on the repatriation solutions available in the two Australian ports. After thirty-one days at sea and a race still at the forefront, Sébastien Josse is therefore withdrawing from the competition and gives us a very first assessment: "We're going to have to wait until the end of the race to see if we're going to be able to make the most of our time at sea It was hard to hide it because boats are very demanding and uncomfortable. To go fast, you have to 'foiler' and to 'foiler' you have to be on it all the time! But I was happy to be there. I took the trouble and I have no regrets about this race in the way I lead it, in the way I sail" concluded the skipper of Edmond de Rothschild.
