A serious injury in a hostile environment
We are at 32 e day of racing in the 2008 Vendée Globe, Yann Elies is on the attack on Generali in this solo round-the-world race. In 7 e position, the Briochin skipper was busy on the foredeck, when his 60-footer took off on a huge wave. The skipper had no time to hold back, and found himself thrown onto the foredeck.
Stunned by the impact, he regained his senses and felt a sharp pain in his left leg. His femur has just failed him. The pain is such that he thinks his leg has been severed.
The situation is tense. The sailor is stuck with a broken leg on the foredeck of a 60-footer in the 40s e 800 miles from the nearest coast.
In pain, he crawled back to the cockpit, dragging his bruised leg. There, he managed to bring his boat to a halt, before returning to his saloon.
Sheltered from the elements, he picked up his satellite phone and informed his team manager of the seriousness of the situation. Unable to move, Yann has no access to the on-board pharmacy, which contains painkillers.
After several hours of scrabbling around for a few centimetres, he managed to grab a tin of paracetamol and a can of soda with his fingertips.
Support from another competitor
Alerted, the race directors rerouted their closest competitor, Marc Guillemot on Safran, 120 miles away. Marc is in the best position to imagine Yann's distress, as he himself had already broken his pelvis during the capsize of the catamaran Jet Services IV in 1985. That capsize cost Jean Castenet his life, and it took four days for the rescue services to come and recover Marc.
The race is put on hold, and the solidarity of the seafarers takes over. Marc quickly arrives on the scene. He manages to make contact with Yann by VHF, and comforts him. Marc Guillemot circles the monohull several times with his cape, and even throws him bottles of water taped to medicines, which Yann is unable to retrieve.
This human presence in the middle of a maritime desert will be an incredible support for the injured skipper. Should Yann's condition worsen, Marc is considering the possibility of jumping aboard Generali to come to his aid. This would also mean the loss of his monohull for the skipper from La Trinité sur Mer.
Samantha Davies, on Roxy, also arrives in the area. Reassured by the comfort of his fellow competitors, Yann managed to tear open one of the waterproof bags in his pharmacy, thereby easing his pain.
The Australian navy at the injured navigator's bedside
Australian rescue services took charge of the operation and dispatched the frigate HMAS Arunta, manned by a crew of 170 sailors. At 25 knots, the frigate passed another unfortunate competitor, Mike Golding, who had dismasted in the same area.
After 48 hours of waiting, the Australian frigate approached the position of the two competitors. An intervention RIB is launched, with a medical team on board. The team goes aboard Generali and prepares to transfer Yann to the frigate. Tired but relieved, the skipper underwent surgery in Perth, before undergoing a long convalescence.
As for the 60-foot Generali, it was damaged by the military semi rigid during the transfer operations. Left stranded with her beacon active, Yann Eliès's technical team attempted to mount a difficult recovery operation. But a few days later, the abandoned boat was caught in a violent low-pressure system and the beacon stopped transmitting, meaning that the boat had sunk in the waters of the Indian Ocean.
Yann will return to racing the following year. He finished the 2016 Vendée Globe in a strong 5th place e place, aboard the monohull skippered by Marc Guillemot in 2008.
