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In a Class40 season, some races matter more than their final results. The 2026 Normandy Channel Race is one of those that leave a lasting impression on a sailor. For Thimoté Polet, the race ended off the coast of the Cotentin Peninsula with a spectacular dismasting. But behind the image of the broken mast lies another story: that of a team that pulled together in a matter of hours to prevent the incident from jeopardizing the rest of the season.
A race start under already challenging conditions
The 2026 Normandy Channel Race got underway in rough weather. Faced with a low-pressure system generating sustained winds of over 30 knots and gusts exceeding 40 knots in some areas, race officials decided to shorten the course.
A decision that the skipper of the Class40 Zeiss considers fully justified. On board, Thimoté Polet is currently sailing with Alex Demange. After rounding Wolf Rock, the duo is in sixth place, just a few dozen meters behind the competitors ahead of them.
The first warning came quickly when a rudder linkage broke. For nearly half an hour, the crew had to secure the boat and then carry out the repair in already rough seas.
Once the problem was fixed, the duo got back on the attack. The Class40 regained its pace and strung together a series of downwind runs at over 23 knots.
" "Honestly, we were having a blast on that side." ", the skipper from Le Havre summed up today.
25 seconds that can turn a race around
The situation changes abruptly during the run down to Dieppe. Under the A4 spinnaker, the boat accelerates sharply during several successive runs. The third one proved to be one too many. Data recorded on board shows an acceleration up to 25 knots before a nearly instantaneous stop at just 5 knots after the boat was caught in the wave.
The impact is violent.
The boat jibes under the strain. The forces between the backstays, ballasts, and rigging suddenly reverse. Within seconds, the mast snaps. For Thimoté and Alex, the psychological shock is immediate.
Two years earlier, he had already experienced a dismasting during The Transat CIC between Lorient and New York.
" I wasn't willing to go through that again so early in my athletic career ", he explains.
Fortunately, the crew escaped unharmed. The mast remained secured by the mainsail, and no water was found to be entering the boat.
Handling the emergency without causing a secondary accident
Once the initial shock had subsided, the procedures kicked in. The first call went to Cédric Château and the technical team that had stayed behind in Le Havre. The message was deliberately simple:
"The mast broke. No injuries. No immediate danger. We're self-sufficient."
This initial communication immediately allows the team to get organized. Meanwhile, on board, another decision must be made: whether to jettison the mast or attempt to recover it. The answer comes quickly.
For environmental reasons, but also to recover any equipment that could still be used, the crew decided to haul the entire rig back onto the deck. The operation took nearly an hour in rough seas. Secured with their safety gear, the two sailors hauled the sections of the broken mast up piece by piece.
"Above all, we had to avoid causing a secondary accident."We've shown that anything is possible in a month."
