Route du Rhum

Some news about Lalou (at 16h french hour), proposed translation :
"Lalou Roucayrol gave news to his team. As he had planned, he left this morning (Guadeloupe hour) from the central hull where he was taking refuge to inspect his boat. He spent 5 hours clearing the mast to prevent any damage to the
boat. The sailor has also made an inventory of his food : he has 5 days of food left and 10 days of water. About Energy, he has just enough for recharge of his Iridium phone.
Lalou wishes for the moment to stay aboard his boat. His boat captain Quentin Vlaminck is flying to Martinique where a tug is ready to leave. If this were the case, the tug would take 3-4 days to arrive on the zone.
At the end of the day (French time), a Falcon had to fly over Arkema. Note that aboard his Trimaran Olmix, Pierre Antoine is at 300 miles in the East of Lalou Roucayrol (so downwind to go).
Source : Des nouvelles de Lalou | Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe https://www.routedurhum.com/fr/actualite/981

 

Lalou Roucayrol will be soon rescued by Olmix /Pierre Antoine, here is the expected scenario :
"What's next? 
”I'll get on to Olmix with Pierre Antoine, and then I will sail for two days towards Guadeloupe with him. A tug leaves Martinique with Quentin Vlamynck (boat captain for the Multi50), who will take me off just a before Olmix gets to Pointe-à-Pitre. I'll join the tug. We will then go to the boat and try to right it or tow it if the conditions permit. I have to be patient. It will take time for all this to happen. But you learn to live with these challenges."
Source : Lalou Roucayrol: A study of happiness while upside down | Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe https://www.routedurhum.com/en/news/1015

Armel Tripon win in Multi 50 :
https://www.routedurhum.com/fr/actualite/1028

 

I don't understand why Romain Pilliard is so slow on "use it again" because I don't understand french.
Dolfiman - can you help/translate please ?

 

Armed Tripon was in first among the Multi50's and third on scratch, Erwan Le Roux has taken out second place. Lalou Roucayrol is onboard Olmix with Pierre Antoine and are set to rendezvous with a tug that will then carry on with Lalou and the tech team to recover Arkema

 

He had to carry out a repair to one of the mast stays and has had to slow down the boat to not overload it.

 

He said that he had a weather front and expect two more ones coming soon. Between them, the wind is light and does not allow great speed, meaning he is still typically in the the transition zone. Soon after that, he hopes to be at last in the trade winds, more regular and stronger.
May I guess that, as he is himself owner of the boat with a small budget for the functioning expenses, he is likely very cautious and do privilege to keep control and to finish the race instead of going fast and taking risk.
More on RomainPilliard and "Use it again" refit for this race :
Romain Pilliard se lance en Ultim sur la Route du Rhum - Course au Large http://www.courseaularge.com/romain-pilliard-se-lance-ultim-route-rhum.html

 

I just read the latest issue of "Foilers!" where Fred mentions that the former "Jessica Rabbit" designed by Martin Fischer was sailing in the Multi Rhum class in the RDR.
Just looked her up- now named "Jess" -and she has retired. Anyone know more of the story?
Here is the thread: Jessica Rabbit-40' Foil Equipped Trimaran https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/jessica-rabbit-40-foil-equipped-trimaran.46495/
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More: Route du Rhum. Gilles BUEKENHOUT (JESS) https://www.letelegramme.fr/voile/route-du-rhum/skippers/route-du-rhum-gilles-buekenhout-jess-28-09-2018-12098437.php


Cartography | Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe https://www.routedurhum.com/en/cartography
========================
Jess

 

More from Romain Pilliard / his today 14h45 vacation :
"While Thomas Coville, now 3rd in the ULTIME fleet, slips in the trade winds at an average speed of 28 knots, Romain Pilliard, under-sailed since his chainplate problem, sails in the southern Canaries at low speed in the company of Class40 and Multi Rum.
"I sail with a boat in pain. I am limited to my mainsail with 2 reefs and J2 maximum. Presently, I am even under reefs 3 & J3. We are in the process of crossing the umpteenth weather fronts. It is not too active, it's ok and it's a priori the last before touching the trade winds. So I do not sail very fast unfortunately. I remain cautious on the rigging. But I make my way with an expected arrival time pretty much for November 25/26. We deal with it. We'll see later if we can put a little more sail to accelerate when the sea will be less chopped. I want to extend the stride in this last straight line. Otherwise, I feel very good on board, that's why it's frustrating because the boat is not at its potential. But as soon as I'm on the port side, I'll be able to put more sail. But here we go with. I can not wait to be in the trade winds."
Source : Journal de bord | Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe https://www.routedurhum.com/fr/journal-de-bord

 

>>> Here is his 6nov. first vacation , after the start and the first storm :
""We are in the fight! It is not easy, the boat flies in weaves 6 or 8 meters. I will take shelter in Spain, let the weather front pass, to leave tomorrow perhaps. The sea here is tough. I had never known such a strong one with this boat. I put the race in parentheses, unfortunately. We must preserve the material if we want to go all the way. I have no damage, some stuff ... jostled by the waves that go over the boat. I will take refuge and rest, because I have not slept since leaving. I blocked a lot. I had up to 47 knots. The boat performs well under three reefs and storm jib. The violence of the waves has detached the solar panels. I will arrive this night at Avilès. "

>>> After this short pitstop for shelter and re fastening the solar panels, he leaves Aviles, here is this video :


>>> Then news from 9nov. :
"Off Cape Saint-Vincent, the beautiful fight started Friday between the two "small yellows" Loick Peyron and Francois Corre, opposed to the swift little "Orma 40" Jess Belgian Gilles Buekenhout shot short tonight. Gilles laments a serious problem on his port foil. He inspects the damage this morning, while diverting himself to a Portuguese port."

>>> The 10 Nov. , due to a foil serious failure, he made a second pitstop at Cascais (Portugal, it is the harbour in the west of Lisbon), synonym of abandon as only one pitstop is authorised . From Belgian news :
"Entered the marina of Cascais Saturday afternoon, Gilles Buekenhout has just declared its abandonment this Sunday. Indeed, this morning, his starboard foil is suddenly back down inside his well. A small blocker having yielded, the appendix fell of all its weight inside the float which it crossed so much as to be horizontal under the hull. The Belgian skipper tried to hold him back, but it was already too late and he resolved to dump him, for fear of seeing him puncture his float.
Not being allowed to make a second stop, he then began to anchor in the shelter of Cascais. Using his small inflatable boat, he inspected his float to find a hole over 50 cm long. Repair at sea and at anchor quickly proved impossible, stratification work requiring a secure implementation of the boat and some technical provisions.

Buekenhout could only see how impossible it is to continue his race. His disappointment is great. He had sailed cautiously, and faced bad weather mostly upwind. As he was leaving his shelter in Aviles, he thought that he had eaten his black bread and was looking forward to future sailing, to demonstrate all the fabulous potential of his "Orma 40".
It remains for him to find a local fiber-resin builder to allow Jess to return to France, where he will still need to rebuild a foil."

 

Thanks!

 

Ultim Banque Populaire IX towing is on progress, after 2 unsuccessful attempts. The boat seems in bad condition, and the structure could suffer more during this long towing in rough sea (probably 430 miles up to the Portugal) :
Maxi-trimaran Banque Populaire IX. Remorquage en cours… https://www.letelegramme.fr/voile/maxi-trimaran-banque-populaire-ix-remorquage-en-cours-14-11-2018-12132741.php

Multi 50 Arkema was found upright !!!! ...... at the great surprise of Lalou Roucayrol and Quentin Vlaminck on board the tug come to take it in tow, due to a float filled of water and likely that a wave more powerful than others righted up the boat.
Le trimaran Arkema retrouvé à l'endroit ! | Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe https://www.routedurhum.com/fr/actualite/1241

 

Banque Pop: 30% of it's initial value to tow it!! (3.6 million Euros)

 

Sodebo comes back: Pressure Drop - Back From Elimination, Coville Takes 3rd In Ultime http://www.pressure-drop.us/forums/content.php?8773-Back-From-Elimination-Coville-Takes-3rd-In-Ultime

 

About Jess, has this boat ever performed well? Its a very cool boat but its been around a few years now and I have not heard about it setting the world on fire down under.

Steve.

 

The stats quoted by Fischer are excellent but I haven't heard of any race results.