“A large depression blocks the road to Brest. 40 knots of wind established, gusts over 50, and seas of 8 to 9 meters… We waited and hoped for improvements but that was not the case. “It is out of the question to take the slightest risk and even more so considering the lead we have over our competitors
,” indicated Benjamin Schwartz, one of the Gitana Team routers, on the Arkéa Ultim Challenge website.
Charles Caudrelier therefore made the choice this Wednesday for a technical stopover.
Sheltered in the Azores, in the lee of the island of Faial, in Horta, as the regulations authorize (at the beginning of February, Charles Caudrelier had to pause his race for 48 hours in the middle of the Pacific to let pass through a violent storm en route to Cape Horn, recalls the site).
The solid leader of the solo round-the-world race on the giants of the seas (2177 miles ahead of Thomas Coville and 3130 miles ahead of Armel Le Cléac'h at 6 a.m., this Wednesday, after 44 days of racing ) will be joined in the morning by a few members of his technical team to help him during this stopover.
Once the regulatory 24 hours of technical stopover have passed, the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, 1,200 miles from arrival in Brest, should return to sea.