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After his capsize during the night of Saturday to Sunday (April 14), Armel le Cléac'h and his two crewmates were rescued by the Moroccan army. The Maxi Banque Populaire IX - after having been located - was taken over by a tug on Sunday 15th to reach Casablanca.
It's done now. After a 130 mile course, the trimaran reached the port of the economic capital of Morocco, before being handed over to the shore crew. The latter will establish an initial diagnosis of the boat and try to organise its return to Lorient as quickly as possible. The aim is to start work quickly so that the Maxi Banque Populaire IX can be relaunched at the end of the summer, with the 2018 Route du Rhum (start on 4th November 2018) in mind.
"The tow lasted 48 hours, as we were extremely careful not to risk further damage to the trimaran.
This morning we put it back in place with the help of a crane. It is now time to make an initial assessment of the damage. We can see that many parts of the central hull deck around the mast foot are damaged, as well as the float deck and the arm fairings; part of the cap has been swept away.
We've already taken the lead in organising repairs to the trimaran, looking at the different solutions for fitting her with a mast and boom. The clear objective is to get the boat back in the water before the end of the summer and to enable Armel to prepare herself in good conditions for the start of the Route du Rhum in Saint-Malo" explains Ronan Lucas, Director of Team Banque Populaire.
