The Vendée Carnage Isn’t Over

It’s a bitter pill, but every Vendée Globe skipper knows going into it that there isn’t a single mile of the course where they’re safe from potential trouble. Two skippers were reminded of this over the weekend in most dramatic fashions. 

Two EPIRBs on Spanish skipper Javier ‘Bubi’ Sansó’s IMOCA Open 60 Acciona 100% Eco Powered were activated yesterday morning after the boat capsized while sailing upwind in about 20 knots. After his rescue that night by the Portuguese Maritime Rescue Service, Bubi reported that he had been on deck preparing to let out a reef when "there was a sudden bang that made the boat shake. It heeled over suddenly, which threw me in the water before I could react." He was able to reach the transom of Acciona to retrieve the liferaft but a strong swell prevented him from tying to the boat.

A SAR plane spotted Bubi in the raft during daylight hours, but the rescue team arrived by helo around midnight. By then he reports that he’d drifted a couple miles from Acciona. He fired his last remaining flare and says he initially thought the helo crew didn’t spot it, but happily they did. A rescue swimmer helped get him aboard the helo and back to the Azores island of Terceira, where he was found to be in fine condition.

"After a needed break," he says, "it will be a matter of preparing the boat recovery operation with my team to be able to assess with accuracy what happened." From the photos supplied by the Portuguese Air Force, it seems abundantly clear what caused the capsize: Acciona‘s missing keel. The next step is to figure out why it went missing. 

In the wee hours of Sunday morning, Tanguy de Lamotte hit a UFO that severely damaged the starboard rudder, the port daggerboard, and daggerboard casing of Initiatives-coeur. In the video below you can see the damage to the daggerboard — and, if you speak French, get a fair idea of the frustration the skipper is dealing with — which is jammed too tightly in the case to move. It’s unclear what the skipper is planning, but for the moment he’s moving slowly — about four knots when this report was posted — presumably attempting repairs.

Tanguy should take comfort in the fact that Jean-Pierre Dick, who lost the keel of Virbac-Paprec 3 on January 21, crossed the finish line at Les Sables d’Olonne this morning after 2,650 miles of some undoubtedly unnerving sailing. Dick took fourth place, and the International Jury declined to issue a penalty for his use of his engine while picking up a mooring to wait out inclement weather.

Meanwhile, Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel) and Mike Golding (Gamesa) are battling for fifth as they approach the finish line. They’re both expected to arrive some time on Wednesday afternoon, after the disqualified Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat) limps back into port.