Very impressive since the start of the Barcelona World Race, the Mirabaud
has suffered damage this morning when the top of the gennaker let go, leading to the massive sail falling in the water and trailing behind the boat.
“We were sailing full on by 25 knots of wind when suddenly the sail fell in the water”, said
Dominique Wavre later on during a phone call. “It took us two hours to get it back onboard; it’s been a terrible fight and we are exhausted.”
Mirabaud is now back on track; however with a light spinnaker whilst the wind still blows at 25 knots, which is a big source of concern for the two co-skippers.
“We will reach the doldrums in two days. If the wind drops as planned, it will give us the opportunity to repair the sail, host it and roll it again, which is very important but not evident at all.”
The Mirabaud is sailing back at full speed since the incident. “Estrella Damm and Mapfre passed quite close to us, but unfortunately we didn’t have any visual contact with them. Our only view is the horizon…it seems so close, yet there is an eternity of ocean around us.”
Most of the Barcelona World Race competitors are now benefitting from established northeast trade winds of around 20-25 knots, more at times. The boat speeds have been impressive with an average of around 18 knots in the pack. However, lighter conditions beyond the Cape Verde Islands have made their presence felt among the leading boats. As of Monday evening, the speeds for the teams further down the fleet have been higher than those ahead.
The doldrums are nearly in sight now and as the wind dies at the front of the fleet, the pack should compress as the trailing boats start catching up the leaders. This effect will only be short-lived though as the front runners should pick up the southern hemisphere trades and reestablish their lead.
Other boats have suffered damage due to the hard conditions: Jean Le Cam’s boat President broke its mast whilst Michel Desjoyeaux and François Gabart (Foncia) will have to stop in Brasil and change their boat’s bow following a crash with an unknown object.
