Race leader pulls into port
Monday May 12th 2003, Author: James Boyd, Location: Transoceanic
After leading the Challenge Mondial fleet through the night this morning Thomas Coville's Sodebo has had to head for port to effect repairs. In a conversation with race HQ, Coville explained that the titanium shaft of the downhaul ram that attaches through the foredeck to the tack of the Solent had broken. Unable to achieve uff tension in this vital sail they are making for the boat's homeport of La Trinite-sur-Mer 100 miles away. They are due in at 1800GMT tonight.
At the noon radio session a very disappointed Thomas Coville said "the boat was going flat out last night and as we were leading the fleet it feels like treason. It was while sailing tack for tack with Belgacom that Sodebo suffered the damage - a problem that could well have caused the trimaran to dismast. The mast is currently held up by the trinquette stay and the halyard gennaker to make up for the breakage of this principal stay.
Currently Lalou Roucayrol's Banque Populaire and Jean-Luc Nelias on Belgacom are fighting it out for first place with Bayer Cropscience just 6 miles behind as the three boats cross the Bay of Biscay.
The boats are currently sailing in a 15-20 knot northwesterly wind but this is due to veer to the north and increase marginally over the course of this afternoon and evening - before decreasing tomorrow as a weak high pressure system forms just to the west of Cape Finistere.
Pos | Name | Lat | Long | SOG | COG | DTF | DTL |
1 | Banque Populaire | 46 45.92' N | 5 22.52' W | 16.4 | 185 | 2421 | 0 |
2 | Belgacom | 46 25.86' N | 5 34.92' W | 14.2 | 195 | 2422 | 0.6 |
3 | Bayer CropScience | 46 23.94' N | 5 19.38' W | 14.4 | 182 | 2428 | 6.6 |
4 | Géant | 46 31.72' N | 5 25.64' W | 13.2 | 193 | 2442 | 21 |
5 | Bonduelle | 47 04.14' N | 5 37.62' W | 13.9 | 272 | 2446 | 24.6 |
6 | Groupama | 47 00.80' N | 6 10.60' W | 11.3 | 215 | 2448 | 26.8 |
7 | Banque Covefi | 47 49.14' N | 5 27.60' W | 15.8 | 185 | 2450 | 28.4 |
8 | Gitana | 47 12.84' N | 4 59.76' W | 12.8 | 198 | 2455 | 33.9 |
9 | Foncia | 47 35.94' N | 6 24.18' W | 9.7 | 268 | 2467 | 45.7 |
10 | Sopra Group | 47 21.96' N | 4 47.92' W | 13.4 | 189 | 2468 | 46.8 |
11 | Sergio Tacchini | 47 36.30' N | 6 07.86' W | 12.4 | 196 | 2469 | 47.9 |
12 | Sodebo | 47 20.88' N | 3 31.56' W | 21.6 | 88 | 2533 | 111 |
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