14.12.2007
Jérémie Beyou and Sidney Gavignet are waiting for assistance in the roaring forties
On Tuesday 11th December, at 2h20 in the morning, their race came to a brutal end. In a fraction of a second and with a big crack, their lives changed. Once being competitive sailors having gone to conquer the world, Jérémie Beyou and Sidney Gavignet are now sailors fighting for survival. By 47 degrees South and 33 degrees East, the sky fell on their heads, on them, who had so yearned for this double handed circumnavigation, the first of it's kind on the high seas, a first for the both of them and the first round the world sailing for Jérémie.
And then, hardly realising what had happened to them, they put on their survival kit and ran onto the deck of their monohull DELTA DORE to assess the ineffable damage: the mast is broken, it has damaged the roof, the pieces were constantly knocking into the hull, cracking and whistling, ...the race is over. The memories of Isabelle Autissier's shipwreck in the Boc Challenge in 1994 come to their mind, about in the same place and at about the same time of year... A few more minutes and the hull will be pierced putting them in a peril similar to the one Isabelle had lived on board her "Ecureuil d'Aquitaine".
Jérémie and Sidney grabbed the metal saw and the tools to saw and cut the pieces of the mast, the shrouds, the lines, the top cross trees, the sails, to clear the deck and throw over board anything that could threaten anymore their survival. The hopes to be on the podium disappeared like smoke, the great feelings sensed when finishing the circumnavigation will not give them a feeling of drunkenness. They are on their own somewhere in between the Antarctic continent and South Africa, 175 miles from Prince Edward's archipelago, nearly out of reach. They are shattered, knocked out and sad enough to cry. Isabelle Autissier wrote in her logbook "Are you sure that salty water will never taste like teardrops?" inspired by the French lifeboats service slogan.
They are going to have to land, to pull their socks up. It's a new leg of the race that starts. The DELTA DORE shore side team is already anticipating things; dawn has hardly risen in France. Gautier is telling them how to make a jury rig out of the battens of the indexsail, Gilles and the Race directors are looking for a ship at least capable of delivering them diesel so that they can motor sail, Fanch et Bruno are preparing for a potential departure for South Africa in order to go and fetch Jérémie and Sidney ...
It's a high-speed expedition that is organised. Ten hours after the announcement of the mast breaking, Fanch Guiffant, who knows the monohull like the back of his hand and has been good friend of Jeremie's for years lifted off for Cape Town. He will be boarding a 115 foot Ocean 7 motor catamaran and heading to assist monohull Imoca 60 DELTA DORE. On board, the rescue and towing gear is being loaded. Mike Gil, a South African crew member, used up all his knowledge and local resources to get Fanch's list of required gear on board : ropes, tyres to be used as fenders, a semi rigid to go alongside the monohull as soon as she is in sight, as well as a 8m aluminium pole that could help to make a small rescue mast for DELTA DORE (NB: the broken mast measured 27 metres long) borrowed from the Sparcraft company. The PRB team in Cape Town showed their solidarity and was spontaneously helpful lending their iridium telephone and some sea going clothes. Once the boat's stores on board and having filled the tank with 12 000 litres of diesel, Ocean 7 started yesterday Thursday morning, 12h local time.
The weather conditions on spot are fair despite the famous "Algulhas current" that is preventing Ocean 7 from getting up to full speed. The eastern current is going against the western dominant winds and so making the sea choppy and difficult. At an average speed of 14 knots Ocean 7 should make DELTA DORE's zone on Saturday 15th December.
There are 48 hours to go for the duo on board DELTA DORE they must learn how to be patient and stay in touch with people on shore. DELTA DORE current position is by 43 degrees South and is sailing north at a speed of 4 knots.
Message received from Jérémie Beyou, Thursday 13th December at 14h
"After a good tidying up, straitening out the equipment, quite a few discussions and permanently mailing people on land to organise the rescue and to analyse the accident. We are keeping ourselves a little busy whilst waiting for the taxi".
Since this morning I have been focalised on only one objective (not thinking too much makes me feel better...): to photograph one of these albatrosses that have been teasing us since we dismasted ...The magnificent birds with a majestic flight were keeping a good distance from us whilst Delta Dore was galloping along the waves with it's big staff! They were following us from a low way off
but now that we are a mere cork on the ocean they are coming to have a closer look. We are the attraction, the game they can now circle round without fear. I would even say that they have started to smirk with the attitude of the somebody that still has his wings and can go wherever he feels!
Still, it reindexs a fact that taking a photo of one of these beasts is a real profession because the best of my shots that you will find in the mail will not reflect in any way the size or grace that our strange neighbours have. !
For the WWF, in direct from the Indian Ocean. Jérémie"
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