And Then There Were Three

Vincent Riou’s PRB is the third race leader forced to abandon in the IMOCA 60 division of The Artemis Transat. Riou said that PRB was reaching at speeds in the high teens when the boat’s keel collided with a large animal, cutting the beast clean in two. Not hearing any carbon fiber cracking, Riou made a quick check and didn’t notice any significant damage. Later in the afternoon, as the breeze dropped, he was able to make a more thorough inspection and found that one of the pins holding his fully canted keel in place was gone and that the load was primarily being carried by the hydraulic ram — which is not engineered for that. Facing the proposition of an impending gale with a keel that could drop away at any moment, Riou made a call to race headquarters, struck the sails and filled the boat’s water ballast tanks to increase the boat’s stability.

LoÏck Peyron’s Gitana 80, following some 15 miles behind, was routed to Riou’s position and successfully picked him up in wind under 10 knots and a moderate sea state. Gitana 80 is now sailing toward Boston, 60 miles ahead of Armel Le Cléach’s Brit Air, now in second place in what’s become a three-boat first group. Riou now must hope his boat makes it through the gale and can be recovered and repaired in time for November’s Vendeé Globe Race.

In the Class 40 division, Giovanni Soldini’s Telecom Italia is mired in a ridge of high pressure with little wind, but the 56-mile cushion he enjoys should see him get to the new breeze earlier than the rest of the fleet, which has made a north-south consolidation behind him as they approach the Ice Gate.