Norfolk, six days later
Armel Le Cléac’h finally stepped back onto dry land on Wednesday. His wife and his Banque Populaire team were waiting for him at the port of Norfolk, in the United States, six days after a Panamanian cargo ship plucked him out of the Atlantic.
The 49-year-old, winner of the 2017 Vendée Globe and one of the pre-race favourites for this Route du Rhum, used a video released by his team to walk through the capsize that ended his race west of the Azores. At the time he was chasing leader Tom Laperche, who went on to win the event.
Le Cléac’h said the race had been going well. He, the boat and his weather team felt they were in the fight. He had already reduced sail and was getting ready to tack ahead of an incoming front when a gust of around 40 knots, roughly 74 km/h, flipped the 32-metre trimaran onto its side.
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Inside the hull, then into the sea
His first instinct was to hang on. From the cockpit he scrambled into the entrance of the central hull and got inside before the water and the boat’s movement could take him. Alarms went off, then the power died. He pulled on his survival suit, salvaged enough equipment to tell his shore team he was unhurt, and the cargo ship was diverted towards him.
The wait lasted around eight hours. Le Cléac’h described the experience as a nightmare, and said he forced himself to eat and drink because he knew the transfer would be physically demanding. When the ship finally got into position he had to jump, ending up in the water about 20 metres from the hull, held only by a rope.
Second time on this race
Relief gave way to something heavier. He spoke of feeling crushed at finishing his transatlantic on a cargo deck, while stressing that he was lucky to be alive and uninjured.
This is not his first Route du Rhum capsize: he also went over in 2018. Banque Populaire began recovery operations on the boat a few days after the accident, and Le Cléac’h hopes it will be back in good shape within a few months.
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