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Monday 19th March – 1645 hours GMT
Objective Route du Rhum – La Banque Postale
Gitana 11 making a technical pit stop in Dingle
After setting out from her home port of La Trinité-sur-Mer, Brittany, on
Tuesday 13th April 2010 for a four to five day solo sail, Gitana 11 has been
forced to make a technical pit stop in southern Ireland. Seventy-two hours
after her departure, whilst heading up towards the famous Fastnet Rock after
a long downwind stretch offshore, Yann Guichard noticed some slight damage
to the starboard float. In order to avoid taking any risks and given the
windy conditions over the zone in question, it was collectively agreed that
the skipper should make for the nearest port – Dingle – to reinforce the
platform and head back out to the sea as soon as possible.
As a precautionary measure, the maxi-trimaran equipped by Baron Benjamin de
Rothschild has been alongside in the Irish port of Dingle since yesterday,
Sunday. Following the discovery of slight damage to one of Gitana 11’s
floats, Yann Guichard has had to interrupt his solo training for a few days.
Initial observations suggest to the team that the damage is the result of
either colliding with a UFO (Unidentified Floating Object), or repeated
impact from big, boat-breaking seas. For the time being though, it’s still
too early to have any degree of certainty and the exact causes will only be
defined on the multihull’s return to her home port.
On arriving in the bay of Dingle on Saturday, the skipper of Gitana 11 had
to wait for nearly 24 hours before setting foot on terra firma again. Indeed
the transportation of the technical team has been hampered by the aerial
blockage that Northern Europe has been experiencing for several days. The
préparateurs from Gitana Team didn’t make it into Dingle until late
afternoon on Sunday after a long ferry crossing and a few hours’ drive
across the emerald isle.
Since that time the team have been carrying out sufficient repairs to ensure
that Yann Guichard can continue with his single-handed sail trial in the
best possible conditions. However, the timing of his departure will depend
on the weather conditions.
Gitana 11 in figures: from 60 to 77 foot
Version 2006 Version 2009
LOA 18.28 m (60’)
23.51 (77’)
Beam 18.10 m
18.31 m
Air draft 30.40 m
30.43 m
Water draft 5 m
5 m
Weight 6.1 tonnes
7 tonnes
Mainsail 190 m2
190 m2
Solent 120 m2
120 m2
Gennaker 260 m2
260 m2
Find all the latest news about the Gitana Team on
www.gitana-team.com
Translated by Kate Jennings – Expression
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