Bad news from Franck Cammas, a favourite in the ORMA 60 multihull class of the Transat. In a radio sched today, he said he’d struck an unidentified object. “It must have been something relatively soft, probably a whale”, he said.

The impact was so great it stopped his trimaran, Groupama, and submerged the bows. Cammas says the centreboard itself is fine, and the boat is not making water, but there is a crack in the casing. For now, he will take it easy.

With a depression ahead to negotiate, the question is how close to go towards the centre. He says he will be cautious until he can be sure that the centreboard and casing are working properly.