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As forecast at the start yesterday, the IMOCA fleet had to deal with a cold front in the Channel, which affected some of the competitors, including Maître CoQ V. The duo, Yannick Bestaven and Julien Pulvé, has been forced to carry out a pit stop after tearing their mainsail. It is impossible for the crew to sail under full mainsail, which is a handicap in terms of performance and speed.

Jean-Marie Dauris, technical and sporting Director at Team Voile Maître CoQ: “Yannick and Julien informed us this morning that there was a huge tear in the leech of their mainsail between reef 1 and 2. After talking it over and examining the situation with the sailmaker, it would appear that the repair is impossible at sea. So the sailors decided to carry out a pit stop in Vigo.”

Why Vigo?

“Yannick looked at the possibility of stopping over in Lorient, but he felt that the weather moving in would not allow him to get out of the Bay of Biscay before Friday evening. What we want most of all is to set off racing again as soon as possible, so that means mooring Maître CoQ V up in Vigo.”

The shore team led by Jean-Marie Dauris and Stanislas Delbarre, boat Captain, is heading for the Spanish city and the marina in Sanxenxo. They are in contact with North Sails and the harbour authorities in Vigo to organise this pit-stop in the best conditions and as soon as possible.

The goal of the team and their partner Maître CoQ and supporters is to repair and set off again as quickly as possible.

Be Water Positive Sailing Team are suspending racing in the Transat Jacques Vabre and heading to Gosport.
Following a medical issue and after seeking professional advice Scott Shawyer will take a pitstop in Gosport to further assess his situation.

Scott along with Co-skipper Nick Moloney and the vessel are in good order, and the duo are expected in Gosport this evening.

This Tuesday, November 8, 2023, shortly before 6 a.m., the mainsail of the IMOCA MACSF tore as Isabelle Joschke and Pierre Brasseur were taking in a third reef. The boat was sailing at 16 knots in a 30-35 knot wind and was in 17th position in the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre.

The duo are currently heading towards Lorient La Base, which they should reach at the end of the day. The technical team of the Voile MACSF team is waiting for them there looking to make the mainsail more reliable and allow them to resume the race as soon as possible.

Isabelle Joschke has not lost sight of her objective, which is the 2024 Vendée Globe, and intends to complete this Transat Jacques Vabre and then be at the start of Return to Base on November 30.

This Wednesday, November 8, just before 0700hrs UTC., Tanguy le Turquais and Félix De Navacelle became aware of a major leak at the front of their Imoca Lazare. After setting up a pump and assessing the damage, the duo have found that major repairs need to be made. So they are heading towards Lorient where they will meet their technical team and carry out further in-depth checks. The duo are doing well and will do everything they can to get back into the  Transat Jacques Vabre.

During the early morning of Wednesday 8th November, Swiss duo Ollie Heer and Nils Palmieri noticed that the port side D1 section of their standing rigging had become detached from the mast.  The boat, Oliver Heer Ocean Racing, and both skippers are fine and are diverting towards Brest or Camaret for a technical stop in order to rectify the situation. 

More information to follow

At 0800hrs UTC while Groupe APICIL was sailing in fifth position in the leading group of IMOCAs off the tip of Brittany, Damien Seguin informed his shore team that the boom on his monohull had broken.
Damien Seguin and Laurent Bourguès did not suffer any injuries. It is impossible to carry out repairs at sea, so the pair has decided to head at reduced speed for a port in Brittany, which they will not reach for at least another twelve hours. When the incident happened, Seguin and Bourguès had already got through the worst of the strong winds associated with the low-pressure front. They had tacked and were sailing on the starboard tack.

No decision has yet been taken about the rest of the race. Damien Seguin will be examining all the possibilities with his team.

More information to follow.

Yesterday morning while they were sailing upwind in difficult sea and wind conditions in the South of the Bay of Biscay in this sixteenth Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie – Le Havre, the duo in the colours of the Manche department came to a halt. While stacking, Alexis Loison, Nicolas Jossier’s co-skipper, was violently thrown across the inside of the boat by a wave injuring his hand. The two sailors then took the decision to divert to the Galician port of La Coruna that they reached at around 2330hrs. The skipper from Cherbourg must now undergo a medical examination at the hospital to determine whether or not he has a fracture.