Jean-Luc Van Den Heede - 4,000 miles ahead of the rest of the fleet - encountered very strong conditions while in the Pacific Ocean, 1,900 miles from Cape Horn (he hoped to pass it around 21 November 2018): 65 knots of wind and 11 m waves. Thus, on November 5, he warned Donald McIntyre, the organizer of the Golden Globe Race, of the capsizing of his Rustler 36 Matmut.
The rigging was damaged, particularly the lower shrouds, not causing the mast to break, but playing on its stability. The mast section is split by 5 cm and the rigging released. The storm is still raging, but should improve in the coming days
The 74-year-old Frenchman - who was not injured during the capsizing - is now sailing downwind without a sail until conditions improve. He will then carry out a quick repair to be able to reach Valparaiso (Chile) to repair permanently. For the time being, he has not requested any assistance and intends to rally the land by himself. The race organisation is monitoring its progress as far as Chile. This stopover will take him to the Chichester category for the end of the race (still 8,960 miles to go).
