Jourdain retires

Devastation for second placed Vendee Globe skipper

Our condolences go to Roland Jourdain, skipper of Veolia Environnement. After 84 days of racing and having held second place since 16 December, Jourdain has made the hard decision this morning to bring his Vendée Globe to an end and stop at the Azores. After losing part of his keel last Thursday, the skipper of Veolia Environnement has done all he can to ensure the stability of his boat and his own safety in some very difficult sea conditions. He is currently continuing towards Ponta Delgada on the island of Sao Miguel, some 50 miles away, which he is due to reach this afternoon. Two members of his shore team will help him over the final miles.

"Once the decision was taken, that was it," he said. "I would have found it more difficult to come to this decision if the forecasts had indicated light winds, but it's the exact opposite. For 3rd February, they are talking about 50 knot winds with a ten metre swell. I've been lucky to have come this far without capsizing, particularly in yesterday's storm, so I'm not going to push my luck. I have gambled enough. It's no use now and it
would be unreasonable to continue. It's a bitter pill to swallow, but it would be even harder, if 24 hours after passing a port, where I could have stopped, I capsized and had to abandon the boat."