No back-to-back for Caudrelier
Charles Caudrelier will not defend his Route du Rhum title. His team announced on Tuesday evening that the skipper of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild is pulling out after a serious foil failure, and will head back to Lorient, a trip expected to end over the weekend.
The trouble started in the early hours. Shortly before 5am, Caudrelier alerted his shore team to damage on the port foil of his Ultim, some 400 miles north of the Azores. He was fourth among the Ultims at the time and had been hanging on to the leaders since the start off Saint-Malo. Securing the foil and weighing up the extent of the damage took most of the day before the final call.
His boat, a new-generation Ultim only launched in February, had never been fully proven in race conditions. Caudrelier said before the start that his 2022 boat had been a step ahead of the field and that he knew its settings to the centimetre, something he could not claim this time. That year he won in 6 days, 19 hours, 47 minutes and 25 seconds, which remains the benchmark for the Ultim class.
no renewal
Free for 2 weeks.
Beyou stops on medical advice
Caudrelier was not the only big name to go. Jeremie Beyou stopped his race in the middle of the afternoon while running second in the IMOCA fleet, about 500 miles north of the Azores. After talking to the race doctor and race direction, he decided his health no longer allowed him to sail in racing conditions. He is now making for the Azores aboard Charal 2.
The attrition list keeps growing. Armel Tripon, the 2018 Multi50 winner, quit with a rudder problem, Thomas Coville had to drop his headsail into the sea after it fell in the water around 11:15, and Francis Joyon capsized on Monday before being picked up by a cargo ship. Of the 115 boats that left on Sunday, plenty are already nursing damage with the Azores weather still to come.
Discover the rest of our sports news on MathODDS!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply