The Ocean Race: the leader of the sailing race victim of a spectacular collision

2023-06-17 02:16:31

Spurred. In view of the images, this is what happened to the unfortunate crew of 11th Hour Racing, the leader of the general classification sailing race around the world with a crew and by stages reserved for monohulls which is being held at the moment.

A few minutes after the start of the seventh and final leg of The Ocean Race, in The Hague, the European crew of Guyot Environnement-Team Europe was responsible for a violent collision with 11th Hour Racing, the leader of the general classification. The damage is very important on board the American boat which had to return to port and which probably sees its chances of final victory reduced. The hull of the ship of the crew led by Charlie Enrigh is literally holed on the left side. A handicap, while the Americans were leading the race, the crew even remained on three consecutive stage victories.

He had a two-point lead over Team Holcim-PRB, second, which left a fairly “comfortable” leeway. He just didn’t have to finish more than three places behind Holcim-PRB to win.

As for the circumstances of the incident, there is no doubt that the fault lies with the French crew. At the crossing with 11th Hour Racing Team, “Guyot” hit the rear part of the American sailboat, while the latter had priority to windward. The only consolation in this complicated situation is that the very spectacular impact caused no injuries, either on the side of 11th Hour Racing Team or Guyot environnement – ​​Team Europe.

“Their boat appeared in front of me and it was too late, recognized Benjamin Dutreux at the dock, after the incident. It was impossible to avoid contact. I take full responsibility. It’s our fault, that’s for sure” concluded the disappointed skipper. The fact of having affected this race in this way fills the whole of Guyot environment – ​​Team Europe with deep regret.

Slim hopes for the American crew

For his part, Charlie Enright, skipper of 11th Hour, said he had tried to avoid the collision, but when he realized that his competitor’s boat was not changing course, he was too late. “This is an extremely regrettable situation,” he said when he came ashore. “I don’t want to speculate, but it looks like the other boat didn’t see us. We had priority. The impact was violent – ​​we are very lucky that everyone is fine…”.

Shortly after 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Guyot-Environnement announced that it was withdrawing from the stage, while 11 th Hour had not yet announced its decision. The crew has been leading the general classification since the 5th stage, with a two-point lead over PRB-Holcim and six points over Team Malizia.

At 10:00 p.m., the two competitors were leading the stage. They are expected around July 1 in Italy. In the event of a late departure, the American crew may request time compensation which will be studied by a jury, we learned from the organizers. The last edition of The Ocean Race (formerly Volvo Ocean Race) was won in 2018 by the Chinese crew Dongfeng, led by French sailor Charles Caudrelier.