The Breton sailor recounts the dramatic moments of his capsize off the Azores and his rescue by a Panamanian cargo ship during the Route du Rhum.
Armel Le Cléac'h, the renowned Breton sailor, has finally broken his silence one week after his spectacular capsize during the Route du Rhum. In an emotional video shared by his team, the 45-year-old navigator reflects on those few seconds that changed everything for his Ultim Banque Populaire, the 32-meter trimaran he himself had designed and built.
"In a matter of seconds, everything changed," he simply stated. The capsize occurred off the Azores, while the sailor was in full race mode in the Atlantic. Despite the violence of the incident, Le Cléac'h managed to send a distress signal before his vessel turned over.
The rescue was carried out by a Panamanian cargo ship that was in the vicinity. Emergency services intervened quickly, allowing the navigator to safely abandon his troubled multihull. Following this ordeal, Le Cléac'h was repatriated to the United States, where he was able to reunite with his loved ones and technical staff in Norfolk, south of Washington.
In his statement, the double winner of the Vendée Globe thanked the rescue teams as well as the cargo ship that enabled his evacuation. This Route du Rhum 2022 will be remembered for this incident, which once again highlights the inherent risks of solo sailing on these extremely high-performance vessels that are the Ultims. Although deeply marked by this experience, Le Cléac'h appears determined to analyze what happened in order to draw lessons from this accident.
"In a matter of seconds, everything changed," he simply stated. The capsize occurred off the Azores, while the sailor was in full race mode in the Atlantic. Despite the violence of the incident, Le Cléac'h managed to send a distress signal before his vessel turned over.
The rescue was carried out by a Panamanian cargo ship that was in the vicinity. Emergency services intervened quickly, allowing the navigator to safely abandon his troubled multihull. Following this ordeal, Le Cléac'h was repatriated to the United States, where he was able to reunite with his loved ones and technical staff in Norfolk, south of Washington.
In his statement, the double winner of the Vendée Globe thanked the rescue teams as well as the cargo ship that enabled his evacuation. This Route du Rhum 2022 will be remembered for this incident, which once again highlights the inherent risks of solo sailing on these extremely high-performance vessels that are the Ultims. Although deeply marked by this experience, Le Cléac'h appears determined to analyze what happened in order to draw lessons from this accident.
Advertisement
Source: Ouest-France