At 01:00hrs this morning (Monday 8 November) Yves le Blevec, skipper of the Multi 50 Actual informed his team and the Route du Rhum-La Banque Postale race director that the trimaran has sustained damage to the forward starboard cross beam.

Le Blevec has lowered the mainsail of Actual and is sailing under ORC headsail in 20 knots of SE’ly wind.

Actual is located equi-distance between the West Indies and the Azores. On the advice of weather router Christian Dumard, le Blevec is making a W’ly course of around eight knots to clear the worst of the conditions.

The situation is reported to have been stabilised. The solo skipper has organized a survival cell at the back of the boat, comprising essential safety equipment including a life-raft, lifejacket, GPS, torch, knife and iridium phone.

The immediate objective of the skipper is to get Actual out of the most unsettled area then looking at a solution with his team and the boat’s designer.

Yves Le Blevec is still racing. The solo skipper of Actual had just taken in a third reef in his mainsail and described big waves which created enormous spumes of spray around the boat. It will be a difficult night for Le Blevec as he extricates Actual from the most unsettled seas and winds.

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