The blue maxi-trimaran was sailing 500 miles from the Azores Archipelago, towards the equator, when it collided with an OANI (unidentified object or animal), described the team in a press release sent to the 'AFP. “The foil was damaged and after analyzing the damage, the decision was made to turn around to reach Concarneau (home port of the boat, Editor’s note) as quickly as possible,” said the sailing team.
François Gabart and his five crew members – Tom Laperche, Amélie Grassi, Antoine Gautier, Émilien Lavigne and Pascal Bidégorry – are expected between Friday and Sunday in Brittany. Already the holder of the solo round-the-world record, the Charente sailor left on Saturday morning to try to beat the crewed record held by Francis Joyon (Idec) since 2017 (40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds). “There we turned around because it seemed difficult and complicated that this foil could last a whole trip around the world […] maybe it would have broken after a few hours,” Gabart estimated.
Leave quickly
If this first attempt suddenly stops, the team has not yet abandoned its project for this winter. “Potentially if there's nothing else broken on the boat, we might be able to get back behind pretty quickly,” the 41-year-old sailor said. “We are still at the beginning of winter, at the start of stand-by, we have a second foil and there are still many things possible,” he added. The waiting period generally extends until February 15 for crews seeking the record.
