Route du Rhum ravaged

Another capsize and more retirements as storm force winds batter the fleet

This report will be updated as and when we get more news...

STOP PRESS: Loick Peyron's Fujicolor is heading for port with damage. She was lying in third place at the time. Peyron diverted to go to standby Rexona Men following her capsize and may have been damaged sailing upwind into such severe conditions.

STOP PRESS: Jean-Pierre Dick's Open 60 Virbac (formerly the Vendee Globe winner PRB ) dismasted last night. At 0700 GMT was around 200 miles off Coruna (North West Spain) Dick is alright and sorting the boat out.

Thomas Coville on Sodebo was stuck in a fishing net last light, but is on route again. "It stopped me abruptly - I put my head lamp and harness on and the knife ready to jump in and cut it off, when suddenly a gust of wind hit the boat. The boat shot off in full speed and I rushed to the pilot"

At 06.10GMT this morning Yvan Bourgnon’s 60’ trimaran Rexona Men capsized in the North Atlantic off the Spanish coast. At the 03.00 GMT position report Bourgnon was 215 miles west of Vigo (42°30.68’ N / 13°33.64’W).

Bourgnon was sailing without the main sail and only the storm jib up. The wind was at the incredible speed of 75 knots and Bourgnon was inside the boat in communication with his router at the time. This is when an even stronger gust, estimated at more than 80 knots, lifted the boat and turned it over. He immediately set off the distress beacon and contacted his shore crew by the Iridium telephone.

Yvan Bourgnon has decided to stay onboard, he is well and is in control of the situation. He has 10 days of food supply, and is not asking for rescue.

Bourgnon set off the Inmarsat B+ beacon (which enables the locating of an overturned boat). His shore crew is organising the rescue services.


Update:

The night has been rough on the entire fleet, who are stuck between systems in constantly shifting wind and squalls up to 50/55 knots. The competitors have eagerly been waiting for a wind shift to the north-west, easing the tension of constantly banging against the wind, and offering a more direct course to the Azores. The 07.00 GMT position report indicates that the boats further west have already got the shift, and will start to accelerate.

Last night Mike Golding on Ecover has taken the lead of the Open 60 fleet, although Sill is on a more southern latitude heading towards west. In third place Ellen MacArthur on board Kingfisher has been experiencing problems with her electronics that have affected her autopilot system. These have only partially been resolved.

Thomas Coville Sodebo is back in first place of the multihulls, further north-west than second Loick Peyron on Fujifilm. Sodebo has already got the windshift from north-west and is starting to speed up (15 knots at 07.00 GMT). Yvan Bourgnon Rexona Men (non localised on the 07.00 GMT position report) is very close to leeward to Fujifilm and on a similar course. They were both on a southerly course, but tacked west last night, and will soon get the wind shift.

The small class 2 trimaran Archipel Guadeloupe (Claude Thélier) is continuing his brave route diving south, and is the most southerly boat in the fleet.

At 00H30 GMT Swiss Open 60 skipper Dominique Wavre on Temenos announced his abandon to the Race Committee. His jib exploded to bits and pieces. It is more than 300 miles to the Spanish coast and Wavre decided it will be too late to get back in the game. The disappointed Swiss does not want to continue without this important sail. “I entered this course with ambitions and with the will to battle”. This is the first time Wavre has abandoned a yacht race in his entire sailing career.

See page two for the latest weather charts

Positions 13/11/02 07:00:00 GMT
Positions	Name	Skipper	Lat	Long	DTF	SOG	COG
60ft tris
1	Sodebo	Thomas Coville	44 12.80' N	15 03.40' W	2936.8	15	235
2	Fujifilm	Loick Peyron	42 34.04' N	14 10.40' W	2939.1	7.1	341
3	Foncia	Alain Gautier	43 28.80' N	13 59.96' W	2964.4	6.8	259
4	Banque Populaire	Lalou Roucayrol	46 55.68' N	13 53.88' W	3042.4	11.8	228
5	Géant	Michel Desjoyeaux	45 09.08' N	12 49.72' W	3045.6	9.3	234
6	Biscuits La Trinitaine - Ethypharm	Marc Guillemot	45 30.04' N	12 39.56' W	3059.4	3.8	293
7	Sergio Tacchini	Karine Fauconnier	44 43.48' N	12 12.52' W	3061.9	1.7	297
8	Sopra Group	Philippe Monnet	42 46.72' N	10 33.88' W	3099.9	6.2	108
9	TechnoMarine	Steve Ravussin	47 19.20' N	11 49.62' W	3121.7	7.4	192
10	Bonduelle	Jean Le Cam	48 16.84' N	4 35.36' W	3424.9	0	0
11	Belgacom	Jean-Luc Nélias	47 53.88' N	3 58.62' W	3442.9	0	0
12	Bayer CropSciences	Frederic Le Peutrec	47 21.00' N	3 08.94' W	3467.8	0	146
ABD	TIM	Giovanni Soldini
ABD	Gitana X	Lionel Lemonchois
NL	Rexona Men	Yvan Bourgnon
ABD	Groupama	Franck Cammas
ABD	Eure&Loir-Lorénove	Francis Joyon
ABD	Banque Covefi	Bertrand deBroc
Open 60s
1	Ecover	Mike Golding	44 35.00' N	15 43.52' W	2908.1	10.4	239
2	Sill	Roland Jourdain	42 53.80' N	14 51.72' W	2918.3	10.8	173
3	Kingfisher	Ellen McArthur	45 12.80' N	15 47.44' W	2930.2	14.1	251
4	Arcelor-Dunkerque	Joé Seten	46 49.20' N	14 06.60' W	3036.1	10	216
5	60ème Sud	Didier Munduteguy	45 51.84' N	13 14.76' W	3044	3.7	208
6	Temenos	Dominique Wavre	45 30.24' N	12 38.32' W	3058.2	4.4	54
7	Virbac	Jean Pierre Dick	43 51.36' N	11 45.04' W	3066	5	215
8	L'Heautontimoroumenos	Antoine Koch	45 21.68' N	11 58.64' W	3072.9	8.1	193
9	Un Univers de Services	Miranda Merron	46 33.72' N	12 42.18' W	3079.2	4	185
10	Garnier Belgium	Patrick De Radiguès	42 41.08' N	10 29.56' W	3098.3	5.5	297
11	Tir Groupé-Montres Yéma	Mike Birch	43 55.96' N	10 12.08' W	3127.8	3.3	80
12	Dinan Pays d'Entreprises	Frédéric Lescot	44 32.12' N	9 53.80' W	3152.4	7	271
13	Ciments St Laurent-Ocean	Georges Leblanc	44 35.92' N	7 40.00' W	3246.1	3.4	129
ABD	VMI	Sébastien Josse
ABD	La Rage de Vivre	Loïck Pochet
NL	Leasecom	Elie Canivenc
NL	Millimages-Gédéon	Patrick Favre
Class 1 monos
1	Ville de Dinard	Bruno Reibel	47 02.36' N	9 15.84' W	3222.7	1.5	267
ABD	Un Autre Regard Ensemble pour l'UNHCR	Nicolas  Peitrequin
Class 2 monos
1	Ashfield Healthcare	Nick Moloney	47 33.36' N	13 00.16' W	3090.3	8.1	226
2	Florys	Luc Coquelin	46 09.28' N	11 32.64' W	3116.6	2.5	190
3	Mille Visages	Hervé Vachée	45 09.36' N	10 23.72' W	3143.1	5.9	256
4	Branec III	Roger Langevin	48 44.92' N	12 03.20' W	3152.3	8	328
5	Adecco Etoile Horizon	Bob Escoffier	46 00.08' N	9 30.68' W	3193.9	4.4	269
6	Laiterie St Malo	Clément Surtel	49 12.76' N	10 41.80' W	3212.2	6.7	187
7	République Dominicaine	Yannick Bestaven	47 43.20' N	3 22.04' W	3464.2	0	0
8	Défi Vendéen	J. F. Durand	46 55.14' N	3 00.66' W	3475.9	11.9	122
ABD	Apic A3S	Christophe Huchet
Class 3 monos
1	Storagetek	Regis Guillemot	47 03.78' N	12 29.76' W	3098.4	6	335
2	Passion Entreprendre	Jérôme Thiriez	47 18.00' N	10 22.48' W	3184.4	0.8	81
3	Grain de Soleil	Etienne Svilarich	49 19.48' N	11 32.52' W	3185.4	6.4	310
4	Hellomoto	Conrad Humphreys	47 48.18' N	7 12.18' W	3313.8	6.1	290
5	Fantasy-Forest	Alain Grinda	48 43.14' N	3 57.96' W	3455.6	0	0
Multihulls - class 2
1	Crepes Whaou!	F. Y. Escofier	44 54.40' N	15 13.76' W	2945.2	12.8	228
2	Yachting-casino.com	Anne Cazeneuve	45 13.12' N	12 31.84' W	3058.8	2.7	213
3	Vaincre la mucoviscidose	Hervé Cleris	43 45.72' N	11 31.20' W	3071.5	1.9	336
4	Archipel Guadeloupe	Claude Thelier	41 30.20' N	9 53.08' W	3103.9	2.9	58
5	Lehning-Lapeyre-Blanchet-Gourbeyre	P.Y. Guennec	44 58.28' N	7 33.32' W	3255.5	2.2	290
6	Groupe France Epargne	Patrick Morvan	48 44.34' N	4 00.48' W	3454.3	0.1	90
ABD	E-Sat Tri Sélectif	Pascal Quintin
ABD	Chaleur Fioul Elan	Didier Levillain