Spindrift 2 damaged in the Indian Ocean

(February 1, 2019; Day 17) – At 1606h UTC, skipper Yann Guichard (FRA) of the 40m trimaran Spindrift 2, which is in hot pursuit of the around the world Jules Verne Trophy, contacted his technical team ashore to report damage to the starboard rudder. As it is currently night for the 12-man crew, this has hampered their assessment of the situation. The boat is located in the Indian Ocean, sailing at 15 knots and heading on a NE course toward Cape Leeuwin some 1000 nm away.

UPDATE: At 19:00 UTC, having made a full assessment of the damage and possible repairs, the team has reluctantly concluded that they are unable to make the necessary repairs without compromising the safety and performance of the 40m trimaran.

“Because of this technical problem we have no choice but to stop this record attempt,” said Guichard. “It is a huge disappointment to all of the crew. We are now heading to the south east coast of Australia and expect to reach there in the next four days.”

Team details – Tracker – Facebook

CREW OF SPINDRIFT 2:
Yann Guichard – skipper
Erwan Israël – navigator
Jacques Guichard – watch leader / helm
Christophe Espagnon – watch leader / helm
Xavier Revil – watch leader / helm
François Morvan – helm
Thierry Chabagny – helm
Sam Goodchild – helm / bow
Erwan Le Roux – helm
Duncan Späth – helm
Benjamin Schwartz – helm / bow
Jackson Bouttell – helm / bow
—
Jean-Yves Bernot – router

Background:
The Jules Verne Trophy is a prize for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by any type of yacht with no restrictions on the size of the crew, starting and finishing between the Le Créac’h Lighthouse off the tip of Brittany and the Lizard Point in Cornwall.

The 12-man crew of the 40 meter trimaran Spindrift 2 led by Yann Guichard began their attempt January 16 at 11h 47min 27sec UTC. To win the Jules Verne Trophy, they have to recross the line by February 26 at 11h 16m 57sec UTC to break the record of 40 days 23h 30m 30s, held since 2017 by Francis Joyon (FRA) and his five crew on the 31.5m VPLP-designed trimaran IDEC SPORT.

Source: Spindrift racing