Second dismasting in The Ocean Race

(May 9, 2023; Day 17) – In the final stage of the fourth leg of The Ocean Race, fate dealt a heavy blow to GUYOT environnement – Team Europe when their mast broke just over 600 miles east of the finish in Newport, RI.

Amid heavy seas and gale force winds, the crew with skipper Benjamin Dutreux, Robert Stanjek, Annie Lush, Sébastien Simon and onboard reporter Gauthier Lebec had tackled the anticipated conditions with minimal sails to take all the power out of the ship.

But even with the third reef in the mainsail and without a headsail, the rig did not withstand the forces and the mast crashed onto the ship. The crew remained uninjured, but had to make a great effort to free themselves from parts of the mast, the mainsail and the furled headsails (J2 and J3). Only the lower part of the mast could be saved, so that an jury rig could possibly be set.

This is the second dismasting after Holcim-PRB losts its rig on the fifth day of the leg. After dripping out of Leg 3 due to hull delamination, this is now the second consecutive leg in which GUYOT environnement – Team Europe had failed to finish.

The combination with the Gulf Stream and a strong low pressure, a high wave had built up off the American east coast. This was accompanied by winds that averaged 35 to 45 knots, with gusts above that. Although the crew tried to sail at as gentle an angle to the wind as possible, hard impacts in the waves could not be avoided.

At around 2:30am (UTC) this morning, the mast broke after a violent impact on the sea. The first concern, whether the crew was all right, was quickly resolved. All five crew members were uninjured. To prevent further damage to the hull by the mast, the rigging were cut. Parts of the mast and the sails could not be brought on board.

Under engine, the yacht is now heading towards the American coast, with five to seven days to reach Newport. Currently, only speeds of three to three and a half knots are possible, as there is still a strong swell and strong winds. Therefore, no jury rig could be provided to support the engine so far.

The crew is now working with the shore team to see what options are available to reach a port. The first choice would be Newport, but this would probably require the help of a tugboat. Halifax would be a possible port of call. The short distance and the supportive current speak in favor of the Canadian coastal city.

Skipper Benjamin Dutreux was not yet able to answer how a continuation of the race is possible: “First of all, it’s about reaching a port. Then we can discuss further plans. It’s not easy, we are only a small campaign.”

Benjamin Dutreux gratefully accepted competitor Boris Herrmann’s announcement that he would do everything he could to help GUYOT environnement – Team Europe: “Thank you, Boris. We would like to return to the race. We have good memories of the finish port of Genoa since The Ocean Race Europe. We would like to return there.”

From the tracker at the time of the dismasting.

Leg Four Rankings at 02:30 UTC*
1. 11th Hour Racing Team, distance to finish, 463.1 nm
2. Team Malizia, distance to lead, 26.4 nm
3. Biotherm, distance to lead, 118.5 nm
4. GUYOT environnement, distance to lead, 156.1 nm
* Holcim-PRB, retired (dismasted April 27)

Race details – Route – Tracker – Teams – Content from the boats – YouTube

Overall Leaderboard (after 3 of 7 legs)
1. Team Holcim-PRB — 19 points
2. Team Malizia — 14 points
3. 11th Hour Racing Team — 13 points
4. Biotherm — 10 points
5. GUYOT environnement – Team Europe — 2 points

IMOCA: Name, Design, Skipper, Launch date
• Guyot Environnement – Team Europe (VPLP Verdier); Benjamin Dutreux (FRA)/Robert Stanjek (GER); September 1, 2015
• 11th Hour Racing Team (Guillaume Verdier); Charlie Enright (USA); August 24, 2021
• Holcim-PRB (Guillaume Verdier); Kevin Escoffier (FRA); May 8, 2022
• Team Malizia (VPLP); Boris Herrmann (GER); July 19, 2022
• Biotherm (Guillaume Verdier); Paul Meilhat (FRA); August 31 2022

The Ocean Race 2022-23 Race Schedule:
Alicante, Spain – Leg 1 (1900 nm) start: January 15, 2023
Cabo Verde – ETA: January 22; Leg 2 (4600 nm) start: January 25
Cape Town, South Africa – ETA: February 9; Leg 3 (12750 nm) start: February 26
Itajaí, Brazil – ETA: April 1; Leg 4 (5500 nm) start: April 23
Newport, RI, USA – ETA: May 10; Leg 5 (3500 nm) start: May 21
Aarhus, Denmark – ETA: May 30; Leg 6 (800 nm) start: June 8
Kiel, Germany (Fly-By) – June 9
The Hague, The Netherlands – ETA: June 11; Leg 7 (2200 nm) start: June 15
Genova, Italy – The Grand Finale – ETA: June 25, 2023; Final In-Port Race: July 1, 2023

The Ocean Race (formerly Volvo Ocean Race and Whitbread Round the World Race) was initially to be raced in two classes of boats: the high-performance, foiling, IMOCA 60 class and the one-design VO65 class which has been used for the last two editions of the race.

However, only the IMOCAs will be racing round the world while the VO65s will race in The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint which competes in Legs 1, 6, and 7 of The Ocean Race course.

Additionally, The Ocean Race also features the In-Port Series with races at seven of the course’s stopover cities around the world which allow local fans to get up close and personal to the teams as they battle it out around a short inshore course.

Although in-port races do not count towards a team’s overall points score, they do play an important part in the overall rankings as the In-Port Race Series standings are used to break any points ties that occur during the race around the world.

The 14th edition of The Ocean Race was originally planned for 2021-22 but was postponed one year due to the pandemic, with the first leg starting on January 15, 2023.

Source: Guyot Environnement