Artemis out

Mainsail delamination forces Jonny Malbon to pull out of the Vendee Globe

Jonny Malbon, racing on board Artemis Ocean Racing II in the Vendée Globe today took the hard decision to retire from the event. Until only days ago the British skipper, 34, who was participating in his first Vendée Globe, had been confident of completing the gruelling 24,000 mile circumnavigation. However, Malbon today informed the race organisers that the existing and continuously worsening damage to his mainsail was too severe for him to realistically continue racing.

Artemis Ocean Racing II’s mainsail has been slowly and frustratingly delaminating and breaking down for the past three weeks, and a one metre vertical split in the sail added to the challenges in the last 24 hours. With the isolated expanse of the Pacific section of the Southern Ocean ahead and no land until South America and the often treacherous Cape Horn the loss of a reliable mainsail at this juncture, coupled with earlier damage to his starboard daggerboard sustained in early December, has forced Malbon to make a cold hard rational assessment of the situation and take the decision to retire, which is the sensible thing for himself as skipper, the boat and Artemis as sponsor.

Jonny Malbon commented: “I am absolutely devastated. We have been through so much since the start and survived it all - I think I always imagined that if I went out of this race it would not be something I would have to weigh up and decide, it would just be something that happened and be beyond my control. The thing with this is that I could carry on for a bit, but it is only a matter of time - it is no longer if but when the mainsail will just disintegrate completely, so heading out past New Zealand back into the Southern Ocean is just not feasible. My heart is telling me to go on but my head is telling me I have to stop and in the end it is true - I have no choice. Words cannot describe my disappointment that this has come to an end.”

As to the damage itself Malbon reported: "It’s pretty badly delaminated, the scrim on the port side seems to have indiscriminately fallen off the sail so there’s obviously been an adhesion problem. We’ve been relying on the taffeta on the starboard side to retain the structure and strength of the sail, and unfortunately now the taffeta seems to be detaching itself from the fibres. So now it’s turning into a string vest, and unfortunately once those fibres start coming off the situation becomes critical. It’s getting worse and worse and worse. I simply cannot repair that sort of damage, I’ve never seen anything like it before, I don’t have enough materials or glue or I haven’t got enough hands."

Malbon, who is currently around 300 miles south of New Zealand’s South Island, will now turn north to make port where he will be met by members of his shore team.

Jonny concluded: “It has been a mammoth effort for everyone involved with this team to get here. To have achieved what we have is amazing and in particular I would like to thank the whole team, from top to bottom, for the massive amount of work and commitment to get AOR II and myself to the start line and as it turns out half way around the world in a boat that has like all the other competitors taken a pounding in this event and kept me safe throughout. I am also very fortunate in having the backing of a company like Artemis. They are so much more than just a sponsor and their help, guidance and support has been unwavering throughout.”

Having spoken to Jonny directly, Artemis Investment Management CEO Mark Tyndall fully supported Jonny’s decision: “Everyone at Artemis Investment Management is incredibly disappointed for Jonny that his Vendée Globe dream is now over. However Jonny’s safety is our priority and disappointing as it may be to pull stumps at half time in the circumstances this is the right and responsible decision. The Vendée Globe is one of the toughest sporting endeavours on the planet, and although Jonny did not succeed in completing the course, along with many others who have sadly had to retire from the race this time, we have collectively gained a huge amount of valuable knowledge and experience. We look forward to welcoming Jonny and AOR II back on British shores in the near future.”