Jean Le Cam recovers Kevin Escoffier, all are well. VIDEO

Jean Le Cam found in the night Kevin Escoffier on the life raft. The castaway was in perfect health and is now aboard his colleague’s boat. It was a very long night at this Vendée Globe, one that kept everyone in suspense until the most anticipated news arrived when it was about to get light. Le Cam retrieved it following the indications of the Race Direction that with the Cross Gris Nez they were following Escoffier’s epirb signal, Meteo France on the other hand assisted the operations by doing the simulations of drift in the current to indicate to the skipper what the boundaries of the search might be since the epirb signal in heavy seas was very disturbed.

Words of thanks from Kevin Escoffier, who was also sorry to have interrupted Le Cam’s splendid race, bursting into tears at the thought of his boat, PRB, sinking, with Le Cam’s voice in the background consoling him. Escoffier describes the incident: the boat had a “nosediving,” meaning it came down violently from a glide planting itself against a wave and literally split open. Escoffier blames himself for nothing; he says he added 200 kg of carbon to strengthen the boat. The time will come for the analysis of this incident and the necessary questions. Right now the only thing that matters is that Escoffier is safe and in good health. PRB was one of the most glorious Imocas in the fleet, very fast, launched in 2010 by Vincent Riou with whom the boat had won two Transat Jacques Vabre. Escoffier had updated it with foils to participate in this Vendée Globe.

Mauro Giuffrè

TRACKING

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