" Today I have the task of revealing damage which has been a source of great concern for several days now. " Calmly, almost pedagogically, Bruno Peyron set about his explanation : " The titanium ball some 12 cm in diameter bearing the 1 200 kg load of the mast and rigging is cracked over a circumference of 170 degrees. Compression here sometimes exceeds 60 tonnes. If the ball breaks, the mast will come down. " Strange squeaking noises were heard coming from the ball on its shell each time the mast bent or turned. Ronan le Goff, the boat’s mechanic in charge of rigging and Yves le Blévec, a specialist in composite materials, were the first to pick up on the damage. It is serious, and the idea of heading over to Salvador de Bahia did cross our minds. We spent a lot of time on the phone with Yann Pernfornis, the boat’s architect and builder, and have come up with a technical solution for the time being. Yves Le Blévec, the craftsman’s craftsman, has made an absolute jewel of a piece in the form of an all carbon shell to fit tightly over the base of the ball. Pushing things one step further, the laminate has been extended to the deck to make sure that the sphere is totally immobilised. " This repair will not prevent the ball from breaking " explained Le Blévec, " but it should stop the mast tumbling down ! " Extensive observation of the boat’s behaviour over the last 48 hours has ended up convincing Bruno that he should continue his route. " When we set the right sail, we noticed that the rig moves less and that there is less friction of the mast on the ball " continued Peyron. " As soon as we shorten sail in the belief that we are putting the boat under less pressure, the natural bending and twisting movements of the mast make us fear the worst. " So, Orange is to continued her route, crossing the Equator shortly after 14h00 French time. She will continue her long north-north-east leg today. " So long as the boat keeps gliding along without a hitch, we can still put in a respectable performance ". Bruno is obviously delighted to maintain the advantage compared with Club Med, last year’s winner of The Race. Orange’s crew is not overly concerned about crossing the Doldrums either. However, the north-east trade wind has an unusual appearance, and is putting on a pretty unfavourable face for the Mediterranean giant. Due north down the coast of West Africa, the north-east trade will force Bruno to make a long sprint north west. The way to Brest Brest #brest is getting longer. If the sea conditions are right, then we may be able to reach the ridge of high pressure barring the ocean really quickly. The difficult bit will come later, when Orange finally makes it back to our latitudes and will have no choice but to head east.

Quote / unquote...

Bruno Peyron : " I don’t know whether our navigation has been perfect from a strategic or meteorological point of view, but I’m absolutely certain that Orange’s multidisciplinary crew has done a remarkable job of maintaining and preserving the boat over the last 52 days. We’ll only know what lies at the origin of this crack once we have been able to x-ray the part back on land. What we do know though, is that the grease pump which is supposed to grease the area of friction between the ball and the shell at the mast’s base automatically has not been working for the last week. Ronan Le Goff had to call upon every ounce of ingeniousness to unblock it. Together with Yves’ repair, we are able to keep going but our route will be longer, albeit more comfortable for the mast - which does not necessarily mean that we are going to sai ! l more slowly, quite the opposite... "

Yves le Blévec : " Together with Yann Pernfornis from Multiplast, we have created a coupling to support the ball just in case the part gives out. We have had to wait until the boat was sliding along nice and dry in the trade wind before being able to build and position this clamp at the mast’s base. "

Denis van den Brink / Mer & Media Agency / Translation by Nikki Scott-Despaigne

 NEW RECORD Record #sailingrecord - Ushant / the Equator : 53 days, 4 h and 49 m
 Crossing of the Equator : Wednesday 24th April at 14h25 French time
 Cape Horn / Equator : 11 days, 1 hour and 57 minutes