Barcelona World RACE:

dismasted and abandonments

A sailboat dismasted with his split trail and hanging in several fragments offers a always sad and full vision of frustration. The sound of the breakage of the new carbon masts remembers the deflagration. A full signal sonorous that of fright to both crew.  In less than 10 days the Great South beyond 40º rugientes has acquired already a great tribute.

Way of Australia fell in the first place the PRB of Vincent Riou and Sébastien Josse, followed by the Estella-Damm and the French Delta also Gilds of the Jérémie Beyou and Sidney, followed very close by the Veolia-Environnement, during the past 17 nailed December after one of its helmet in a powerful wave.

The PRB lost their 3 last meters of wood in spite of which it has been able to reach Cape Town where finally it has been possible to establish the cause of his breakage. A failure in the outer laminate of the right carbon wood and in the place of the breakage. The Delta Gilds and the Veolia lost all the rigging which forced to cut shrouds to them and stays to free themselves of the cable maze and to still avoid dangers majors like the perforation of the helmet by the blows of the broken rest.

With the loss of these rest the possibility has also disappeared of analyzing the final cause of these two breakage. When running in pairs the boats still go more to the limit than the boats of others regatas alone like Vendée Globe. The Delta had to arrive at towed port and the Veolia must arrive at the Australian coasts thanks to the fortune equipment that have installed.

Barcelona World RACE is acting like proving stand for others regatas of IMOCAS since the problems with these new boats going to the maximum of yield are detected and in situations impossible to predict with mathematical analyzes. The computers allow to know what a system will do everything of rigging with the static boat and the sea like a plate, but when a Open nails to 25 or 30 knots of speed in a wave, it is not possible to predict by computer what will be the result of so violent effort. One is a “direct crach-test” in and in the heat of competition.

On the other hand the necessity has been shown to put under woods of carbon to the analysis by ultrasounds, with the aim of detecting failures in the homogeneity of its insignificant fibers and thus to be able to reject the defect that will cause the breakage in the extreme situations.

Without doubt the BWR run in pairs are serving like “fuse” for the next solitaires of the Vendée of next the 2008, serving besides oracle: More wood abandonments and breakage will take place still yet.