Last night, Thomas Ruyant suffered major damage to his port foil, which forced him to stop momentarily, and which will deprive him for the rest of his round-the-world trip of this important appendage on the left side of the boat.
It was around three in the morning when Thomas Ruyant, while resting inside his LinkedOut , was alerted by a loud noise outside the boat. Without feeling the slightest shock, Thomas however rushed outside. Using his headlamp, he immediately noticed major cracks on the “shaft” of his port foil *.
Thomas immediately stopped the boat and went downwind to inspect the damage.
“I was about 120 ° to the wind, I was walking at 20 knots when I heard this loud noise,” says Thomas. “I don’t really have an explanation. I put the foil in fully so that it does not drag in the water. With daylight, I was able to inspect the foil and its well from top to bottom, in relation with my team and the architects on shore There is no waterway and the foil well is healthy. But the foil is really cracked in many places. The very structure of the foil is affected. J ‘wait for the architects’ analysis to see if I need to cut it. “
The disappointment is immense, but the LinkedOut skipper does not give up and, although in shock, manages to be positive! “I am second in the Vendée Globe. Since Sunday I have accumulated small problems, which I managed to manage, but which were crowned this morning by damage. I naturally continue the race, handicapped, with only one wing, but I am comforts me by telling me that I still have my starboard foil, which is perhaps statistically the most important for a round-the-world trip. The road is long. I continue, I hang on! ” More here.
