Group Bel will stopover in Ushuaia

On Monday night, Kito de Pavant and Sébastien Audigane notified the race management that Groupe Bel had suffered damage to the keel. After a night during which they were extra vigilant, which passed without incident, the two sailors are continuing their route to Cape Horn which they will round this evening. The weather conditions are beginning to improve in the area with winds easing off in the next few hours, enabling them to sail Groupe Bel to Ushuaia at roughly 13 knots, where they will stopover on Wednesday to fully assess the situation. Groupe Bel's keel is now centered on the boats axis, and the ballasts have been filled to stabilize the monohull's trim.

Kito de Pavant looks back at the sequence of events:

“We were slowly but surely making progress towards Cape Horn. There was a north-northwesterly blowing at about twenty knots and it was due to ease off.

A few hours before we noticed our problem, the sea was very rough with troughs of 8 to 9 meters. Groupe Bel was hurtling down these waves at up to 25 knots and hitting the bottom hard. The wind speed was between 40 and 45 knots. We heard a crack and we knew that it wasn’t topside. Was it under the boat? We then heard a strange sound coming from the keel. As soon as it was daylight, I checked everything and noticed that the keel-head was loose. In the end, I noticed that on the longitudinal line pieces of carbon had gone, but it is difficult to make a proper diagnosis at sea.

We are in our survival suits, we have prepared all our safety equipment beside the chart table and we have filled the ballasts to weigh down the boat so that it will stay as stable as possible. Our aim now is to round the Horn. This is important for us. We have sailed three oceans to get this far and we’ve fought hard to do so. This first Cape Horn will not go as I would have hoped. Then, we will take shelter in Ushuaia, which we should reach on Wednesday during the day.”

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