27 December 2008
Y
Day 49: Still waiting to assess repairs as Seb escapes north away from storm
In brief:
- After suffering a major knock-down in 60 knots yesterday on the 48th day of the Vendée Globe, Sébastien Josse is now nursing BT north to reach calmer conditions to fully assess the rudder system and structural damage.
- Sébastien estimates it will take another 10-12 hours before conditions will have eased enough and it is safe to carry out the assessment.
- Read Sébastien's report below as he reports first-hand what happened and what happens now.
In detail:
&xnbsp;
Sébastien Josse onboard BT is still in rough seas although with the wind starting to moderate, now just 30 to 35 knots, he hopes to be in calmer waters within 10 hours or so. The conditions on deck are too difficult to work on understanding the problem with the rudders, but Seb has managed to put the rest of the boat back in order, and also get some rest before attacking this major issue. Although the coach roof is moving a great deal with the movement of the boat, Seb has managed to temporarily seal the cracks and has stopped the water coming in. With the autopilot now only able to operate on basic helm fixing mode (no compass mode because of rudder misalignment, no wind mode as no wind instruments), BT is still only able to make slow progress away from the rough seas. A complete check of the boat has not revealed any other issues, so the decision about the future in the race now comes down to how repairable the rudder system is, combined with the need to repair further the cabin roof.
From Sébastien this morning at 0930 GMT (27.12.08):
"Two nights ago I was in the centre of a big low pressure with around 46 knots and big gusts of 50-55 knots plus snow. During the night a big wave catch the boat and put the mast on the water at around 120 degrees - close to a capsize. For a few minutes I didn't' really know what had happened - if the keel had gone or if it was a wave - but finally I could check the keel and realised it was okay and that a wave had knocked the boat over. The mast was fine but inside food, clothes, electronics were everywhere.
&xnbsp;
After the near capsize I tried to put the boat back on the right course and I understood that the rudder system was not right. First thing I did was to furl the staysail which was okay and drop the indexsail but to drop the indexsail in 40 knots is not easy as the wind push the sail against the spreaders and it gets stuck so it took around 45 minutes to get the sail down. When I finished I came back inside to look at the structure and I see the roof is broken (cracked both laterally and longitudinally) because some water was coming inside the boat and I also realised the central bulkhead had cracked."
"The plan now is to go north and catch the high pressure where there is less waves and wind to check the rudder system in a safe environment - although the waves will still be around 4 meters!&xnbsp; The autopilot has no reference point now so it is not functioning properly (the rudders are misaligned so the auto pilot cannot configure a reference point).
&xnbsp;
During the time of the incident it was very tricky conditions - big squalls of 55 knots and 10 meter waves and you are on the limit in this size of boat and the limit for you too in trying to do any maneuvers.&xnbsp; The problem is at the bottom of the wave there is no wind but you need speed to escape and at the top of the wave you have too much speed going down into the wave so in 50 knots you are at the limit.
&xnbsp;
Now I have 2 options: first is to check the rudder system and if I think its okay, I go east and keep in the race but in a safe condition - but ahead is the rest of the Pacific and Cape Horn which is famous for storms... Second option is to go back to New Zealand and the race is finished but I make sure the boat is safe."
High-resolution images of the BT Open 60 are now available for download via the media website http://www.btsebjosse.com.
For further information on the BT Team Ellen contact:
Julie Royer
BT Team Ellen Communications Manager
Email: julie.royer@ocgroup.com
Tel: +44 7501 723 121
|
