GUYOT environnement arrives in Halifax

Halifax, Canada (May 13, 2023) – At 12:30 local time today, the GUYOT environnement – Team Europe arrived after their dismasting in the fourth leg of The Ocean Race. The crew – skipper Benjamin Dutreux, Robert Stanjek, Annie Lush, Sébastien Simon and onboard reporter Gauthier Lebec – had endured four and a half days of transit under engine and jury rig.

The team will miss the fifth leg from Newport, USA to Aarhus, Denmark starting on May 21, with their plans now to ship their IMOCA to Europe with the intention to rejoin the race. After dropping out of the third leg due to hull delamination, this will now be the third consecutive leg the team will not complete. Here’s the statement issued by the team:

On May 9, at around 2:30 am, the yacht had lost its mast in a heavy storm and rough seas, forcing it to abandon the fourth leg of The Ocean Race 600 nautical miles from the finish port of Newport/USA.

Fortunately, the crew remained uninjured and secured the yacht by detaching large parts of the snapped rig and some sails. A day later, when the weather had calmed down, an jury rig could be set. The storm jib and a small remaining part of the mainsail, set like a gaff sail, provided light propulsion.

Wind and current as well as the shortest way ashore set the direction for GUYOT environnement – Team Europe. It was off to Halifax in Canada. But the odyssey was not over yet: the team ran out of fuel. But keeping the engine running was important to keep the instruments running and also to keep the cruising speed from dropping too low.

The commercial shipping was radioed, and sure enough, a cargo ship stopped its journey and transferred about 150 litres of diesel to the yacht via canister. So it was possible to reach Halifax after four and a half days at a speed of three to four knots.

The relief could be seen on everyone’s face when they fell into each other’s arms: the crew and the shore team. After the entry formalities had been completed, the yacht was now being stripped. Beforehand, the crew had already started cleaning and tidying up the yacht at sea.

After the craning out, an examination of the hull followed and then a plan can be made if and how a re-entry into the race is possible. In any case, a transport by cargo ship of the yacht to Europe is necessary.

Leg Four Results
1. 11th Hour Racing Team, finished May 10 at 18:41:41 UTC (17d 02h 26min 41s)
2. Team Malizia, finished May 10 at 19:13:22 UTC (17d 02h 58min 22s)
3. Biotherm, finished May 11 at 12:04:38 UTC (17d 19h 49min 38s)
Retired – GUYOT environnement, (dismasted May 9)
Retired – Holcim-PRB, retired (dismasted April 27)

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

Overall Leaderboard (after 4 of 7 legs)
1. Team Holcim-PRB — 19 points
2. 11th Hour Racing Team — 18 points
3. Team Malizia — 18 points
4. Biotherm — 13 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.

Held every three or four years since 1973, 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.