Stamm locates boat

"It's a miracle" says Swiss Open 60 skipper

At 09:15 GMT this morning after 24 hours of research, Bernard Stamm finally located his stricken Open 60 Cheminées Poujoulat/Armor Lux.

Having left on Friday at 0130GMT from St John, Newfoundland on board an ocean going tug, the Alex Gordon, Stamm arrived in the search area at 0800GMT yesterday. The first hours searching were carried out in bad conditions.

"There was no visibility and the waves were breaking," commented Stamm. "We went to the centre of the search zone and the boat's estimated position and began our search over what could have been 1,000s of kilometres of ocean."

This morning, at 0830, in spite the improved weather, Stamm seemed not very optimistic of his prospects. "We'll need a miracle," he said over the phone. And 45 minutes later a miracle indeed occurred when his Open 60 was spotted.

Now the operation to recover Cheminées Poujoulat/Armor Lux is underway. This will involve removing the mast and righting the hull before towing it to St John. Prior to this Stamm and his nine man team must check the hull for damage.

Meanwhile Stamm's shore crew are heading for Newfoundland to organise shipping the boat back to France by ship. Expert Jacques Leberre is liasing with the insurancce company and shipping companies to work out the best solution.