Transat Jacques-Vabre: the departure of the IMOCAs further postponed due to storm Ciaran

The forty Imocas entered in the 16th edition of the Transat Jacques-Vabre weathered storm Ciaran on Thursday at the dock in Le Havre and will have to wait again: the fleet should not set off before Tuesday at the earliest.

“The possibility mentioned (Wednesday) of seeing the Imocas set off on Sunday is now excluded, in particular because of the strengthening of the westerly wind, which has a very significant impact off the coast of Le Havre,” explained race director Francis Le Goff.

In a press release sent to AFP, the race organization specified that it was now working “on a starting scenario, a first option of which would be early Tuesday morning”. “We knew that there would be a second depression after this storm with waves of nine meters at the tip of Brittany this weekend and very rough seas,” sailor Maxime Sorel (V and B) commented to AFP. - Monbana - Mayenne).

“Everyone is understanding, but it’s true that it’s a special situation. The weather systems are changing at full speed, we are in complete limbo and we don’t really know when we are going to leave,” he lamented. Last Sunday, the Vendée Globe monohulls remained at the dock at the start of the Transat Jacques-Vabre to avoid storm Ciaran which hit Brittany on Thursday.

“There was more than 60 knots of wind (111 km/h) in the port, it moved a lot, but overall, there is nothing to report for the moored boats and the peak has passed,” detailed Maxime Sorel .

“We remained very vigilant when opening the basin doors between noon and 1:10 p.m., with a one meter surge, which caused the pontoons to rise that much. Fortunately, the wind dropped at the same time and no damage occurred,” said Francis Le Goff.