Vendée Globe, con l’amaro in bocca
OceanoVelaVendée Globe 2 Febbraio 2009 Zerogradinord 0
[singlepic=1644,250,170,,left]Vendée Globe – Les Sables d’Olonne – Dopo 84 giorni passati in mare, Roland Jourdain ha preso la decisione di terminare la sua Vendée Globe fermandosi alle Azzorre. Dopo aver perso parte della chiglia della sua Veolia Environnement giovedì scorso, ha fatto del suo meglio per stabilizzare la barca anche in condizioni difficili.
“Una volta che la decisione è stata presa, è fatta. Pensavo sarebbe stato più difficile, ma visto che le condizioni meteo stanno peggiorando – per domani sono previsti 50 nodi di vento e onde di 10 metri – sarebbe veramente irragionevole continuare con la barca in questo stato. Si tratta di una pillola amara da ingoiare, ma è giusto così.”
In questo momento Roland Jourdain sta facendo rotta verso Ponta Delgada, sull’Isola di Sao Miguel, a circa 50 miglia di distanza.
Al secondo posto è salito così Armel Le Cléac’h. Lo skipper di Brit Air anticipa di 1000 miglia Samantha Davies, terza a bordo di Roxy.
Day 85, 20.00 GMT, ranking
1 – Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) FINISHED
2 – Armel Le Cléac’h (Brit Air) DTF 1329.0 nm
3 – Samantha Davies (Roxy) +1009.8 nm
4 – Marc Guillemot (Safran) +1130.0 nm
5 – Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar) +1406.3 nm
To follow the race on web click here.
[flashvideo filename=video/oceano/Vendee_020209.flv /]
Video courtesy Vendée Globe.
THE END FOR ROLAND JOURDAIN: “I WON’T PUSH MY LUCK”
[Vendée Globe Press Release]After 84 days of sailing, Roland Jourdain took the decision this morning to bring his Vendée Globe to an end and stop racing at the Azores.
After losing part of his keel last Thursday, the skipper of Veolia Environnement has done his utmost to ensure the stability of his boat and his own safety in some difficult sea conditions. He is currently continuing towards Ponta Delgada on the island of Sao Miguel, some 50 miles away, which he is due to reach this afternoon. Two members of his shore team will help him over the final miles.
” Once the decision was taken, that was it. I would have found it more difficult to come to this decision if the forecasts had indicated light winds, but it’s the exact opposite. For 3rd February, they are talking about 50-knot winds with a ten metre swell. I’ve been lucky to have come this far without capsizing, particularly in yesterday’s storm, so I’m not going to push my luck. I have gambled enough. It’s no use now and it would be unreasonable to continue. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but it would be even harder, if 24 hours after passing a port, where I could have stopped, I capsized and had to abandon the boat. ”
Day 85, 20.00 GMT, ranking
1 – Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) FINISHED
2 – Armel Le Cléac’h (Brit Air) DTF 1329.0 nm
3 – Samantha Davies (Roxy) +1009.8 nm
4 – Marc Guillemot (Safran) +1130.0 nm
5 – Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar) +1406.3 nm
To follow the race on web click here.
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