Conference unifix::sailing

441.0. "Fleury Michon/Route du Rhum" by SHIRE::WENGER (Max Wenger @GEO) Mon Nov 24 1986 04:53

    French skipper Philippe Poupon on the trimaran FLEURY MICHON won the
    single handed transatlantic race, "Route du Rhum" between St.Malo, France
    Point-a-Pitre, Gouadeloupe (French West Indies) on monday 11/24 at 3:58
    GMT. He set a new record in 14 days, 15 hrs, 58 min., which was 2 days 
    less than the winner of the previous edition. With top speeds in excess
    of 25 knots and daily averages close to 500 nm, he has left his closest
    competitor, Lionel Pean on ERICSON over 350 nm behind. Canadian Mike
    Birch on TAG/HEUER is currently running third, with still 800 nm to go.
    The race has suffered heavy material casualties due to 3 successive 
    depressions in the north atlantic with winds in excess of 60 knots and
    seas bewteen 20-30 ft. 
    Only 1/3rd of the competitors having left St.Malo are still in the race. 
    Even Eric Tabarly, for the first time in his life, had to be rescued on 
    the 3rd day of the race, more than 500 nm off-shore when a giant wave
    broke one of the hulls of his maxi-trimaran.

    The event was unfortunatley shadowed by a tragedy when the leader, Loic
    Caradec and his maxi catamaran of 78 ft. capsized in a severe storm, just
    short of the Azores. The boat was located upside down by Florence Arthaud, 
    another competitor, but no sign of life was on the wreckage. Divers from
    a french Navy boat which reached the site 2 days after the accident con-
    firmed that the life raft was missing, but all the survival gear was still
    on board. After 4 days of unsuccessfull aerial searches, Loic Caradec is
    presumed drowned.

Of the three first boats into Newport on last summer's Two-Star, only 
one remains....  Also in the Rhum Tony Buillet's Apricot was disabled in
the Channel (hit submerged debris I think), the search boat couldn't
find it, and it was washed against the rocks.  Total loss, Tony OK. 

So TAG remains.

Apparently in Loic's last broadcast he talked of difficulty handling the 
boat with it's wing mast, even with no sail up.

There is apparently some talk (again) of limiting length of boat for 
these single-handed (and short-handed) races.

b.