FR
EN
There was a touch of sadness on the IMOCA pontoons on Sunday morning. The sailors were
ready to set off at the start of the transatlantic race, but the deepening low-pressure system in
the Atlantic forced the Race Directors to take a radical decision, which was appreciated by all
of the skippers.
Giancarlo Pedote (Prysmian Group), IMOCA : “I think this is a wise decision. Yesterday,
we saw that conditions were set to get worse. This shouldn’t be seen as a failure for the race.
It’s normal when you have to deal with weather systems and the safety of the fleet must come
first. This isn’t like a tennis court, where you can control everything. In any case, it’s going to
be a great race.”
Yannick Bestaven (Maitre CoQ V): “They took the right decision. Having said that, it was
a bit tricky for us, because we had been focusing on the start and mentally prepared. We know
that our boat does quite well in rough conditions… It’s a bit like in the mountains. When there
is the risk of an avalanche, you don’t go there. It’s the same at sea with a deep low, so this is
a wise decision.”»
While there was a certain amount of frustration about missing the start, some like Giancarlo
and his co-skipper Gaston Morvan, Clarisse Cremer (L'Occitane en Provence) and Louis
Burton (Bureau Vallée) grabbed the opportunity to cheer on the other competitors, promising
they would meet up again soon with them out on the water.
No way out
It took the Race Directors a lot of thought throughout Saturday night before coming to the
decision to postpone the start for the IMOCAs. Unfortunately no solution could be found to
allow the 40 boats to moor up in another port. If they had been allowed to set sail, there was a
huge risk, beyond what can reasonably be accepted for part of the fleet, which would have
found itself in a nasty low-pressure system, which is already considered to be extreme.
Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa): “Yesterday evening, I understood we would be heading
out into an exceptionally deep low. We can cope with 40-50 knot winds, but here we are
looking at 80 knots gusting to 100-115 knots with 10-12m high waves. With the danger to life,
there is no good reason to be out at sea. It’s not reasonable to send the boats out in this, even
cargo vessels.”
Damien Seguin (APICIL): “This is a highly explosive low, with very strong winds and
mountainous seas. We’re expecting a very violent low-pressure system. When it’s like that,
you don’t have to think about just the fastest boats. We’re staying in Le Havre, as there isn’t
room for us all in Lorient. It looks like we’re going to be here for quite a few days. It was very courageous of the organisers and race Directors to have come to this decision, as it was not
easy to announce that to the skippers first thing this morning."
The Race Directors are continuing to work on finding a break in the weather that will allow
the IMOCAs to set sail as soon as possible and join the race.
