While jockeying at high speed in the second pack the Owen Clarke Open 60, Président has lost its mast and is heading to Cape Verde. The team are safe and sound.
Jean Le Cam reported to Race Direction of the Barcelona World Race at 1925hrs (UTC) this Monday evening that the IMOCA Open 60 President has lost its mast. Jean Le Cam (FRA) and Spanish co-skipper Bruno Garcia are on board and both safe and healthy.
The incident occurred when the boat was positioned at around 18º 03 ' NR /26 º 14 ' W and was sailing at speeds of between 16 and 20 knots. The boat is reported to have hit a wave and the mast broke while sailing under tight luff gennaker with one reef in the mainsail. Both are on board and President is currently under engine to cover the 83 miles which separated them from San Antao, the most northerly island of the Cape Verde group. A disasterfor the two sailors and Président, a new sponsor in the IMOCA class. This reduces the number of Owen Clarke boats in the race down to four and removes one of the favourites for a winning or podium position.
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Following the loss of their rig on Sunday evening, the President duo Jean Le Cam and Bruno Garcia have been safely in the Cape Verde islands since last night. News of their official retirement from the Barcelona World Race has just been officially received.
" I wont forget the immediate support of Andor Serra for helping putting everything at our disposal from the FNOB Scuderia. I have been surprised by the many messages i am getting, so many that I am a bit taken aback, maybe because the news in Spain might have been a bit alarmist. It is gratifying but nobody should be worried because we are taking the best from this and we are already thinking about the next race." commented Garica this morning.
"In this unfortunate incident, we were in fact, quite lucky, as if the same thing had happened in the middle of the Pacific, it would have been much more difficult to deal with. This time, we made it to shore within 24 hours and we're already looking for ways to organise the boat's return home. That is helping us look towards the future. If we had been all alone in the Pacific,that would not be the case."
The two men stressed that they wanted to offer their thanks to the FNOB team for "the immediate help and effort that was put in place following the incident", as well as to all those, who sent messages of support during the race. In particular they singled out the directors and employees at Président. Bruno Garcia : "We are extremely grateful to all those people at Président, who supported us in this project. We'll never forget their help and messages of encouragement. Jean and I feel that we've been treated like members of a big family." |
