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Sailing offshore means accepting the unexpected. But it's hard to anticipate the wake of a plane flying low over your sailboat. But that's what happened on October 29, 2025, to Belgian skippers Jérôme Delire and Caroline Dieu, competing in the Transat Café L'Or aboard their Class40 Innovant Group XLG.
A promising start for a first transatlantic race
Leaving Le Havre on Sunday, October 26, 2025, Jérôme Delire and Caroline Dieu were competing in their very first double-handed ocean race.
But on Wednesday October 29, sailing was abruptly interrupted. A private plane, presumably on a filming mission, flew over the Belgian yacht at very low altitude. The turbulence generated would have violently thrown the spinnaker under the keel, causing complete destruction of this essential sail.
" Our spinnaker is in tatters, all because someone on a plane wanted a nice photo." testifies Caroline Dieu in a video posted on social networks, visibly upset.
JérÃ'me Delire, usually discreet, has also cracked: " Usually, we keep our emotions to ourselves. But this time, we can't. She may be a beautiful boat, but now she's incapable of continuing the race."
Leave with what's left
Despite the frustration, the duo didn't give up. With a spare sail (a heavy spinnaker), they managed to relaunch the boat and get back on course. "Ocean racing is tough. You go through cocktails of super intense emotions. One hour you think you've lost everything, the next you're off again with another spinnaker, confides Jérôme.
Even if they still don't know if they'll be classified or even if they'll be able to finish on time, the two Belgian sailors have chosen to continue. Their message is clear we'll have done everything we could to deserve it. "
While the loss of the main downwind sail remains a major blow in a transatlantic race, we can imagine that these tears are mainly the result of fatigue following a tiring maneuver. Many racers have suffered far more serious mishaps and still managed to finish their transatlantic race.
