Why will the international jury have to investigate?
Because he received a report concerning a possible violation of a service rule during The Transat CIC, a solo race contested between Lorient and New York. “The jury is currently carrying out an investigation and will decide how it will take place at the finish of the New York Race which is currently being contested”: this is the message received by all the runners in the Imoca class, the vast majority of whom is currently in the middle of the Atlantic.
Why was this case not resolved when The Transat CIC arrived in New York?
On all events, from small regattas between three buoys to offshore racing, there are specific deadlines, in hours or days, for being able to submit a protest. In this case, the report, provided by the race director, arrived late before the international jury, made up of five different nationalities. Which therefore obliges this jury to activate rule 69 – 2bc. A rule which allows a file to be investigated once the deadline for complaints has passed. It is also this rule 69 which was applied in the Crémer – Le Turquais case, suspected and then cleared in the case of suspected routing during the 2020-2021 Vendée Globe. The Transat CIC jury has appointed an investigator to investigate the alleged facts. This investigator will then give his opinion to the international jury which will decide whether to continue the investigation or not.
Who is affected by this matter?
This is the Swiss-German skipper Oliver Heer, 25th in The Transat CIC. Facing great difficulties during the race (editor’s note: deprived of electricity on board, therefore of autopilot, he becomes exhausted and loses lucidity), the skipper decides to call his mental trainer: “In this situation, I “was overwhelmed… Speaking to Wolfgang (editor’s note: his mental coach) allowed me to see things more clearly and to face this situation”, he says in a long interview given to our colleagues at newspaper Le Temps.
What do the regulations say about assistance?
In the racing instructions for The Transat CIC 2024, it is written this concerning external aid and more precisely performance aid, article 21.2: “All aid to the performance of the boat or the skipper coming from a Source exterior to the skipper of the boat are prohibited, with the exception of situations linked exclusively to the safety of the skipper, or risks of collision and/or proven risks of material breakage which could endanger the life of the skipper.
What does the skipper risk?
For the jury, whose decision will be final, the question is simply whether the skipper broke the rule or not. There is no defined scale but according to appendix 6 of the penalty guide, we know that the sanction can be light or very heavy. “If there is an alleged infringement of the notice of race, which concerns external assistance, the jury must apply a discretionary penalty which ranges from 24 hours penalty to disqualification depending on the seriousness of the infringement.”
A 24-hour penalty would not change much for Oliver Heer who would retain his 25th place, acquired after 18 days and 10 hours of racing. That is almost two days before Clarisse Crémer, 26th in 20 days and 12 hours. On the other hand, a disqualification would have serious consequences for the skipper of the Imoca “Oliver Heer Ocean Racing”, since he would lose all of the 2950 qualifying miles gleaned between Lorient and New York. Of the 7,968 miles acquired since 2023, he would find himself with only 5,018 miles, which would put him from 40th to 41st place behind the Englishman James Harayda, all this counting on the fact that all 28 skippers complete the Transat New York Vendée and therefore take the 4800 miles distributed. However, remember that only 39 skippers will qualify for the Vendée Globe, with 40th place being awarded in the form of a single invitation.
That said, three months after the Crémer-Le Turquais affair, it is difficult to see the jury applying the heaviest sanction against the Swiss.
Why is performance and routing assistance prohibited, but technical assistance allowed?
It has been a long time since Imoca races have been without assistance to the extent that remote external technical assistance is authorized: when serious breakages occur on board, the skippers immediately call on the technical teams on land to repair or find a replacement. solution.
“Oral, written, photo and video exchanges are authorized between the crew and their team, the sole purpose of which is to describe the technical problem and to propose a method of repair so that the crew carries out the repair in a manner autonomous”, we can read in the racing rules.
Recently, the Imoca class sent a long questionnaire to all skippers on the concepts of assistance. Opinions are divided but according to a survey, the majority of solo sailors are in favor of installing a tracking device, particularly on Vendée Globe boats.
When will the names of the 40 solo sailors qualified for the Vendée Globe 2024 be known?
They must be revealed on July 2, 2024 during a press point in Paris. Provided that the international jury of The Transat CIC has ruled on the present case. If there is an investigation behind it, the jury will have to hear from the sailor currently at sea, on the transatlantic return between New York and Vendée. The first are not expected before June 10 in Les Sables d’Olonne, Oliver Heer a few days later.
