The worst of bad luck for Armel le Cléac'h, skipper of the Maxi Banque Populaire IX... Shortly after his departure - this Sunday, November 4, 2018 - the sailor had to turn back for a 35-minute pit-stop at the tip of Brittany. Joined by his technical team in Roscoff, minor repairs had been made to the on-board energy system
Despite this quick stop, Armel had managed to reduce his gap to 18.5 miles with the fleet leader, François Gabart (Macif) and take 2nd place in the 4pm ranking on Monday 5th November. A great comeback that gave him all these chances for the final victory.
But history has decided otherwise... The Maxi Banque Populaire IX capsized on Tuesday 6 November at 12 noon while sailing 340 miles northeast of the Azores, with wind conditions of 30/35 knots and 5 metres of sea. The capsizing would be due to the failure of the port float.
The skipper was able to activate his safety beacon and contact his shore crew. The skipper is safe inside his boat and awaits the help of the CROSS Gris Nez, in collaboration with the race management and the Banque Populaire team.
Two capsizes in seven months
This is the second time that Armel le Cléac'h has capsized in seven months, since in mid-April 2018, the blue and white trimaran capsized off the coast of Morocco. Due to an oversold wind, the vessel had rolled over to the starboard side before turning over. The skipper and his crew were quickly rescued and the boat repatriated to Casablanca and then to Lorient for repairs.
This accident had left its mark on the minds of the team and they had worked hard on the anti-roll-over systems, such as explained it to us by the skipper during the launch of his maxi trimaran last August. But when it comes to breakage, it doesn't forgive and technology can't do anything about it...
