Foot off the pedal
The victim of structural damage, Armel Tripon from L’Occitane en Provence has been forced to retire from the Vendée Arctique.
07 July 2020
Advertisement
In a cruel blow for the L’Occitane en Provence IMOCA campaign, Armel Tripon was forced to drop sails and withdraw from the Vendée Arctique, reporting to his shore team that the IMOCA 60 had sustained structural damage.
Two longitudinal stringers located to starboard, aft of the zone repaired after the vessel collided with a UFO (unidentified floating object) on the weekend of 21 June, had cracked.
The shore crew has reported that they are not yet in a position to assess the source of the incident, but it suspects that there was some collateral damage linked to the misfortunes back in June.
For Armel Tripon and L’Occitane en Provence, the Vendée Arctique represented the opportunity to qualify for the Vendée Globe 2020.
The fact that the skipper took the start of the race gives the skipper the right to sail a replacement course spanning 2,000 miles, the route of which must be validated by Race Management and completed by 15 September.
Advertisement
A few hours earlier, Damien Seguin had also made the decision to retire from the race. Late afternoon on Sunday, the skipper of Groupe APICIL had noticed that the mounting on his alternator had broken, restricting his ability to completely recharge the onboard batteries.
Having made his port of registry of Port-la-Forêt late morning this Monday, the double gold medallist at the Paralympic Games took the time to make a thorough mechanical analysis before declaring his retirement.
Damien Seguin does have some room for manoeuvre in this situation since he has already qualified and officially signed up for the Vendée Globe 2020.
Back on the racetrack, the IMOCA fleet has had to get out their tool bag and roll up their sleeves.
For the Japanese skipper Japonais Kojiro Shiraishi (DMG MORI Global One), it was a mainsail hook that was cause for concern. Aboard Prysmian Group, Italian skipper Giancarlo Pedote had some electronic problems, while Kevin Escoffier (PRB) had his work cut out repairing his mainsail, which forms part of his old suit of sails.
Escoffier, from Saint-Malo, has made some initial repairs and is hoping to reinforce these once the fleet is slowed by a ridge of high pressure that will have to be negotiated in the coming days.
Thomas Ruyant (LinkedOut), Jérémie Beyou (Charal) and Charlie Dalin (Apivia) lead the fleet, having rounded Fastnet, and are beginning the climb up to the Arctic Circle.
The weather has proven to be particularly unstable over recent days. Indeed, Jérémie Beyou encountered a 35-knot gust yesterday evening as he negotiated the heart of the first low-pressure system to loom over his route.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
