A hard blow for Romain Pilliard and Alex Pella in their attempt to circumnavigate the world “upside down” against the prevailing currents and winds.
Sheltered in the Patagonian canals after passing Cape Horn to let several depressions pass that stand on the way to the Pacific, the trimaran duo Use It Again!
ran aground in Cook's Bay.
The two sailors are safe and sound but there is damage to the boat.
Romain Pilliard says: “
In the middle of the night, the wind picked up suddenly from 10 to 50 knots.
We were sailing with 4 reefs in the Mainsail in the middle of the channel between Darwin and Chair, fortunately, we had a little room to maneuver but in the violence of the squall, in the dark night, we were going straight ahead at more than 12 knots on Flesh Island.
In an emergency, we had to do two gybes not to go straight on the island and we have a little damage to deplore on the boat this morning.
More fear than harm, we are not injured but we escaped the correctional
”.
With a batten, batten box and mainsail batten car broken, Pilliard and Pella are forced into a lengthy tinkering session.
This work was “
particularly physical and complex in weather conditions that were not very favorable for this kind of operation
”, their team explained when the wind was still blowing at thirty knots.
They will also have to leave to find a new shelter.
“
Romain and Alex are no longer safe in their current shelter because gusts at the top of the reliefs are forecast at 60 knots with heavy snowfall, gusts which can very well descend between the fjords,
explains Christian Dumard, router and meteorologist
.
The ideal, even if the wind will be very strong, is to position themselves again in Cook's Bay where they will be more maneuverable and farther from the mountains because the site effects are very important, especially at night when it is colder there. .
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