In a message sent to the Vendée Globe editorial team, Sébastien Destremau thinks he is running out of solutions to his streering and pilot problems and may have to get parts from ashore and so is once again fighting the prospect of an official abandonment.
Sébastien Destremau, Merci
The situation is getting seriously complicated on board Merci who has been plagued since the 16th of December with technical problems that are piling up, the French skipper is close to having to abandon.
“After spending part of New Year's Eve and New Year's Day making a piece to install the angle sensors directly on the rudders, I realised that it had been useless since the problem that has been plaguing our lives for the past two weeks is unchanged. It was a real blow, and I went to bed to put the disappointment behind me.
On the morning of the 2nd January the status is:
Course: the boat is sailing under jib alone (the mainsail is lowered) at low speed and in the middle of a high-pressure system.
Rudder: the whole rudder system is dismantled since the repair broke down on December 31st. At the moment I have no idea how to put the tiller back on the boat. The team is thinking about it, but it is not easy with the few tools available.
Pilot: the pilot is in perfect working order only it is unusable because both computers are out of order or do not respond.
Computer/Calculator: despite having replaced the angle sensors exactly as required, this hasn't changed the problem and we don't have an autopilot. When doing the helm at zero procedure, both on-board computers will fault at the same place and indicate the same error message (error4). As a result, they do not engage the pilot. Who knows why?
Conclusion: Merci has no tiller system AND no autopilot.
Under these conditions, I'm not going to be able to continue the Vendée Globe and I'll have to think about giving up. I hope that, if there is one, NKE (Mr Electronics on board thank you) will find the solution to our computer problem. At the same time, I also need to find a solution to install a real tiller that would allow me to continue the route.
Unless I can manage to achieve one of these things I would be forced to set foot ashore in order to repair the boat properly and get back on course to Les Sables d'Olonne, but out of the race. Right now I don't think I have any other choice.
That’s where we are at, but happy new year anyway!"
