En een vertaling van Sailing Anarchy;
wow , just bloody wow. expansion of previous article......
Their racing yacht was literally cut in two by an Italian cargo ship. On the night of May 28, Thomas Jourdren and Cédric de Kervenoaël narrowly escaped death. Their accounts raise serious questions, both about the behavior of the cargo ship's crew and the problems with their survival equipment.
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On the night of Tuesday, May 27th to Wednesday, May 28th, off the coast of Ushant, waves rose to four meters and the fog was thick enough to cut with a knife. Visibility was almost zero.
Aboard their Class40 racing yacht, Thomas Jourdren and Cédric de Kervenoaël are making good progress, traveling at nearly 17 knots. They are taking part in the 16th edition of the CIC Normandy Channel Race, a demanding event that has already seen several retirements due to the difficult weather.
A cargo ship in the fog, then the shock
"Everything happened in a few moments ," says Thomas Jourdren from Finistère. "I saw the lights of a cargo ship appear in the fog. I tried to reach them on the radio. After several unanswered calls, they finally confirmed that they were going to change their route. But then the second in command answered us abruptly: 'You shit me, you're not in a race!'"
You shit me, you're not in a race!
The cargo ship captain's response
In the darkness, nothing goes as planned. "Suddenly, I realize the cargo ship isn't deviating. I try to make an emergency maneuver, but it's too late."
The collision was violent and brutal. "I heard Thomas say, 'It's not going through, it's not going through!' I looked up and there was a huge shock. It was a building hitting us," said an emotional Cédric de Kervenoaël. He had just finished an MRI: he suffered four fractured ribs as a result of the collision.
Cédric de Kervenoaël and Thomas Jourdren avoided the worst when their boat was cut in two by a cargo ship.
Cédric de Kervenoaël and Thomas Jourdren avoided the worst when their boat was cut in two by a cargo ship. • © Jean-Marie Liot / NCR
A raft that does not inflate
A moment after the impact, despite the pain, Cédric managed to grab the container with survival gear. Thomas grabbed the distress beacon. "We were halfway in the water, clinging to the back of the boat, our legs submerged. The water was gradually rising. We felt like we could lose everything in a second," Cédric continues. They then triggered an emergency signal.
Initial relief came thanks to Pamela Lee, a close competitor, but the life raft that was supposed to protect them didn't inflate. "Seeing that raft not deploy was a huge disappointment. Then a second raft sent by Pamela didn't work properly either. It came loose and drifted away. That was very hard, mentally," sighs Cédric, still scarred.
Alive, but deeply scarred
Finally, the CROSS helicopter arrives and hoists them up after an hour and a half of waiting. Thomas is evacuated with hypothermia. Cédric briefly loses consciousness once aboard the aircraft.
The trauma is profound. Their Class40, their main boat of the season, is now nothing more than a wreck. "We lost everything in a few seconds ," sighs Thomas Jourdren. He says he needs rest, but has his sights set on the rest of the season, particularly the Transat Café L'Or (formerly the Transat Jacques Vabre). " But we're alive," adds Cédric, determined to learn the lessons of this tragedy.
Towards a change in safety rules in Class40?
President of the Class40 class, Cédric de Kervenoaël, wants to change the regulations and ban certain models of life rafts that he considers unreliable.
This kind of accident needs to be addressed. Other skippers have reported the same problems to me. We can't accept that a raft won't inflate in an emergency. I never want to have to tell a family that a sailor won't be returning because their equipment has failed.
Cedric de Kervenoaël
Castaway and president of the Class40 class
The cargo ship involved in the accident is Italian. It was diverted by French authorities to the port of Saint-Nazaire, where an inspection is planned, notably to analyze its black box and understand the decisions made on board. For its part, what remains of the Class40 has been towed to Lorient.
An investigation has been opened by the Brest prosecutor's office. The two skippers hope that justice will shed light on this avoidable shipwreck. "The basic rules were not respected. At sea, collisions must be avoided at all costs. And sailors in difficulty must be rescued."
In the meantime, Thomas and Cédric are recovering from their shock. An extraordinary Class40 meeting is scheduled at Cédric de Kervenoaël's request for this Friday, June 6, to urgently address these safety issues.