Jourdain Sheds Keel

With less than 1,700 miles to reach Les Sables d’Olonne, Roland ‘Bilou’ Jourdain is nursing Veolia Environnement toward the finish since losing his keel bulb and at least some, if not all, of the steel fin Wednesday night.

“I can’t explain how I didn’t capsize," Jourdain said. "When I tried to look under the boat, I couldn’t see anything. Normally, I should have seen something, but I shan’t be diving in these conditions, as there is quite a swell. On the other hand, I do know that if I hoist more sail, the boat heels over so there is definitely a problem with the keel. In the coming hours, I’m going to have to keep a close watch on the situation depending on the sea and weather to see how I can safely continue. I’ll do my utmost to get back to Les Sables unless the sea state does not allow me or it is simply too risky. I just need a helping hand from destiny and some normal weather to complete the race."

For now, he’s proceeding under reduced sail with all of his water ballast tanks filled. The Azores lie some 600 miles ahead on his current course; Jourdain plans to assess the damage there before deciding whether or not to continue. The damage is believed to be related to Veolia‘s collision with a large marine mammal in the South Atlantic, although Jourdain did dive and inspect the keel after the incident and found no damage at the time. He’s currently lying in second place with a roughly 250-mile lead over third place Armel Le Cléac’h on Brit Air. At the head of the fleet, Michel Desjoyeaux is cranking along, with Foncia having logged a 388-mile day with just a little under 500 miles to go. He’s projected to finish Sunday; although there’s some tricky sailing in front of him as he enters the Bay of Biscay, Desjoyeaux will likely be setting a new Vendée Globe record of around 85 days — a two-day improvement over Vincent Riou’s 2004-05 mark, which was set on a 5% shorter course.