The Franco-German skipper Isabelle Joschke has been forced to abandon the Vendée Globe.
On the 62nd day of racing, Joschke realised that the temporary hydraulic cylinder which was holding her keel centred had failed on board her IMOCA MACSF.
Joschke was in 11th place racing in difficult conditions, in 30-35 knots of wind in the South Atlantic some 1,100 miles east of the Argentinian coast.
After the main keel canting system failed on 3 January she had been sailing with the keel centred, held in place by a replacement ram.
But this cylinder has now broken and the keel is no longer held centred. She immediately lowered the mainsail and was sailing under storm jib to keep the boat as stable as possible.
Her team reported that, a shift in the wind direction should allow her to escape to the north-east to escape the low pressure, and flatter seas should make things easier.
With less than 5,000 miles to sail now to the finish line, the leaders are passing Itajai in southern Brazil.
The chasing group have now eroded Yannick Bestaven’s lead to 212 nautical miles.
Vendée Globe Leaders – Day 64 – Sun 10 Jan – Updated at 17:00 hrs UK
1st FRA Yannick Bestaven – Maître CoQ IV – 4867 nm to finish – sailing at 6+ knots
2nd FRA Charlie Dalin – APIVIA – 212 nm
3rd FRA Damien Seguin – GROUPE APICIL – 270 nm
4th FRA Thomas Ruyant – LinkedOut – 295 nm
5th FRA Louis Burton – BUREAU VALLEE 2 – 322 nm
6th FRA Benjamin DUTREUX – OMIA – WATER FAMILY – 448 nm
7th FRA Jean Le Cam – Yes we Cam! – 462 nm
8th FRA Boris Herrmann – SEAEXPLORER – 471 nm
9th FRA Giancarlo Pedote – PRYSMIAN GROUP – 494 nm
10th FRA Maxime SOREL – V and B-MAYENNE – 584 nm
GBR:
17th GBR Pip Hare – Medallia – 2507 nm
22nd GBR Miranda Merron – Campagne de France – 4259 nm
Retired:
Nicolas Troussel, Alex Thomson, Kevin Escoffier, Alex Thomson, Sebastien Simon, Sam Davies, Fabrice Amedo, Isabelle Joschke
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