Vendée Globe, si ritira anche Jonny Malbon
IncidentiOceanoVelaVendée Globe 4 Gennaio 2009 Zerogradinord 0
[singlepic=1265,170,250,,left]Vendée Globe – Oceano Pacifico – Jonny Malbon ha annunciato il suo ritiro dalla Vendée Globe. Lo skipper di Artemis, dodicesimo in classifica generale a 4811 miglia da Foncia, da deciso di fare rotta verso la Nuova Zelanda, messo ko dalla delaminazione della randa.
“Il problema ha iniziato a manifestarsi tre settimane fa: le fibre si stanno pian piano staccando dal film protettivo che le contiene – ha commentato Malbon nel corso di un collegamento telefonico – Nelle ultime ventiquattro ore il problema è peggiorato notevolmente ed è così esteso che non è possibile ripararlo, nemmeno in modo provvisiorio. Non ho mai visto niente del genere prima”.
Per Malbon non si tratta del primo problema di questa Vendée Globe. Alcune settimane fa ha riportato danni a un timone in seguito alla collisione con una balena, danno che, unitamente alla delaminazione della randa, rende quasi impossibile la navigazione di bolina. Prima ancora, Artemis aveva sofferto problemi al desalinizzatore e al caricabatterie.
Day 56, 11.00 GMT, ranking
1 – Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) DTF 7274.0 nm
2 – Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement) +86.6 nm
3 – Jean Le Cam (VM Materiaux) +471.2 nm
4 – Vincent Riou (PRB) +719.4 nm
5 – Armel Le Cléac’h (Brit Air) +740.2 nm
Per seguire la regata sul web clicca qui.
[audio:Malbon_040109.MP3]
Audio courtesy Vendée Globe.
VENDEE GLOBE, JONNY MALBON FORCED TON ABANDON
[Vendée Globe Press Release] Jonny Malbon (Artemis, GBR) has this morning announced his decision to retire from the Vendée Globe due to the ongoing problems with his mainsail.
Artemis’s mainsail began delaminating three weeks ago, apparently due to a problem with the adhesion between the scrim and fibres. Over the past 24 hours the sail has broken down further, with a one metre-long vertical tear developing as the final taffeta layer also began to disintegrate. The damage is so severe that Malbon cannot repair it onboard, as he explained during yesterday’s radio broadcast: “It’s getting worse and worse and worse. I simply cannot repair that sort of damage, I’ve never seen anything like it before, I don’t have enough materials or glue or I haven’t got enough hands.”
Artemis has been racing in 12th place and is currently 300 miles south of New Zealand. With the isolated Pacific Ocean still ahead and no landfall until South America, Malbon and his team have assessed the situation and decided that his best option is to retire and head for the South Island of New Zealand.
Artemis is also suffering a damaged starboard rudder, following a collision with a whale several weeks ago, which — combined with his mainsail issues — would make sailing upwind near-impossible. Previous issues, such as difficulties with his watermakers and an ongoing battery charging problem, are not in themselves race-threatening, but combined with the lack of mainsail could become deeply problematic over time.
Jonny Malbon commented: “I am absolutely devastated. We (AOR II and I) have been through so much since the start and survived it all – I think I always imagined that if I went out of this race it would not be something I would have to weigh up and decide, it would just be something that happened and be beyond my control. The thing with this is that I could carry on for a bit but it is only a matter of time – it is no longer if but when the mainsail will just disintegrate completely, so heading out past New Zealand back into the Southern Ocean is just not feasible. My heart is telling me to go on but my head is telling me I have to stop and in the end it is true – I have no choice. Words cannot describe my disappointment that this has come to an end.”
Malbon, 34 from the Isle of Wight, was competing in his first Vendée Globe on the Rogers-designed Artemis II, and becomes the 16th skipper to abandon this year’s race, with over half of the 30-strong fleet now having retired
Day 56, 11.00 GMT, ranking
1 – Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) DTF 7274.0 nm
2 – Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement) +86.6 nm
3 – Jean Le Cam (VM Materiaux) +471.2 nm
4 – Vincent Riou (PRB) +719.4 nm
5 – Armel Le Cléac’h (Brit Air) +740.2 nm
To follow the race on the web click here.
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