| Mini favourite breaks mast |
Yves Le Blevec's Mini Transat yacht Point Mariage dismasts while heading the Transat 6.50 Charente-Maritime/Bahia fleet.
Le Blevec, one of the race favourites, who's been in constant battle for the lead with Corentin Douguet since 17 September, lost his mast between 0700 and 0900 yesterday morning while lying in third place. According to the race support team on the support vessel Gwalarn V, Le Blevec activated his D to indicate the "problem not in need of assistance" level.
However, with a worstening sea Le Blevec had to make a decision to abandon. Team-members of Gwalarn went aboard Point Mariage to help Le Blevec to set up a jury rig on the remaining 7 metres of mast. Le Blevec is now en-route, making slow progress under jury rig, to the coast of Brazil. Once in Brazil the yacht will be transported by road El Salvador de Bahia and then shipped back to France.
Meanwhile at the front the battle continues with Alex Pella snatching the lead from Corentin Douguet yesterday. Pella took advantage of a shift from the east, slipped through Douguet and now has a 10-mile advantage with less than 650 miles to the finish in Bahia.
In third place sailing at an amazing pace and now just 70 miles off the leader, is Isabelle Joschke on Degremont.
With now less than 650 miles to the finish, the current estimated time of arrival for the leading boats in Bahia is Thursday 27 October.
Sue Pelling/Yachting World, 23 October 2005
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