Thomas Coville and Thomas Rouxel, whose giant boat was damaged after a violent collision, resumed the race early Friday morning after repairing while Thomas Rettant and Morgan Lagravière took the lead of the Imoca class, during the Transat Jacques Vabre.
As authorized by the regulations, Coville and Rouxel, aboard a flying maxi-trimaran of the Ultim class (Sodebo Ultim 3), made a technical stop on Thursday on the island of Madeira (Portugal) to repair their foil ( lateral appendage) starboard damaged by impact with an unidentified floating object (ofni) overnight from Wednesday to Thursday. “It was so violent that I found myself thrown towards the front of the boat, I hit a bit everywhere, a winch handle, the computer screen ... I thought we had hit a boat and we were going to get out of there with the broken bow, ”said Rouxel.
A technical team from Sodebo was waiting for them in Madeira and within two hours the boat was in working order. “I feel a bit like a boxer the day after a fight, I have some bruises, but it's not very serious. I am very happy to be leaving. Even if the competitive stakes will be less, we will have a lot of fun at sea, ”he continued.
The fleet of the Ultimate Five is led by Franck Cammas and Charles Caudrelier (Maxi Edmond de Rothschild), who are approaching Cape Verde.
The fleet of 20 Imocas still in the race (the Vendée Globe boats, 18m monohull) is now led by Thomas Rettant and Morgan Lagravière (LinkOut), who have dethroned Charlie Dalin / Paul Meilhat (Apivia), who moved to third position behind Jérémie Beyou / Christopher Pratt (Charal).
The boat from Rouvoir et Lagravière arrives off Madeira.
The last sailboats of the multiclass race, the Class 40 (12 m monohulls) pass off Cape Finisterre on Friday.
Rankings Friday at 2:00 p.m .:
Monohulls
1. La Manche #EvidenceNautique (FRA) 3.645.2 miles from the finish
(Nicolas Jossier, Alexis Loison)
2. Edenred (FRA) 4.6 miles behind the leader
(Emmanuel Le Roch, Pierre Quiroga)
3. Volvo (BEL) 7.5
(Jonas Gerckens, Benoit Hantzperg)
4. Bank of Lake Geneva (SUI) 8.7
(Valentin Gautier, Simon Koster)
5. Lamotte Creation Module (FRA) 11.0
(Luke Berry, Achille Nebout)
Imoca
1. LinkedOut (FRA) 4,466.2 miles from the finish
(Thomas Rouillard, Morgan Lagravière)
2. Charal (FRA) 9.1 miles behind the leader
(Jérémie Beyou, Christopher Pratt)
3. Apivia (FRA) 11.1
(Charlie Dalin, Paul Meilhat)
4. Initiatives-Coeur (GBR) 36.4
(Sam Davies, Nicolas Lunven)
5.11th Hour Racing Team - Malama (USA) 55.8
(Charlie Enright, Pascal Bidégorry)
Multihulls
1. Primonial (FRA) 4,186.9 miles from the finish
(Sébastien Rogues, Matthieu Souben)
2. Koesio (FRA) 9.5 miles behind the leader
(Erwan Le Roux, Xavier Macaire)
3. Solidaires En Peloton (FRA) 58.1
(Thibaut Vauchel-Camus, Frédéric Duthil)
4.GCA Group - 1001 Smiles (FRA) 89.8
(Gilles Lamiré, Yvan Bourgnon)
5.LEYTON (GBR) 104.5
(Sam Goodchild, Aymeric Chappellier)
Ultimate (32 m)
1. Maxi Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) 5,892.8 miles from the finish
(Franck Cammas, Charles Caudrelier)
2. SVR-Lazartigue (FRA) 29.1 miles behind the leader
(François Gabart, Tom Laperche)
3. Banque Populaire XI (FRA) 111.0
(Armel Le Cléac'h, Kevin Escoffier)
4. Actual Ultim 3 (FRA) 146.4
(Yves le Blévec, Anthony Marchand)
5. Sodebo ultim 3 (FRA) 565.1
(Thomas Coville, Thomas Rouxel)
