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Regatta yacht in collision with floating object

Skipper Jérémie Beyou, 44, of the 'Charal' had to turn around on Nov 11, 2020, and head back 600 nautical miles to the starting port of the Vendée Globe in Les Sables d'Olonne. This means that his chances of winning should already be gone. The starting line remains open for ten days and the Charal team could do the repairs in time for a restart, but it would be a surprise if Beyou could open the field again. In a collision with floating debris on Nov 11, 2020, a rudder blade has been damaged. But already on Nov 10 around 2 p.m., a block on the mainsheet tore off, flew through the entire cockpit, leaving a trail of carbon splinters. Beyou was in the process of carrying out the repairs when the collision occurred. He then found that the starboard rudder was now also damaged. He decided to wait for the front to pass through during the night before starting repairs. In the morning he turned and waited for sunrise to commence the work. But after a few hours the starboard backstay broke. The connection had probably been damaged by the broken sheet block that was installed nearby. The sum of the damage made it necessary to finally turn back to port, because it could not be ruled out that one of the wings might also have been damaged in the collision. The ‘Charal‘ should reach the port on Nov 13. The rudder can be replaced quickly, but the extent of the further repairs could not be foreseen. Therefore, nothing reliable could currently be said about the further progress of the regatta for Beyou.