I’ve been following the Vendee Globe single handed ocean race, not quite as much as I did in its early stages but I’m still keeping up with it.
I’m pretty shocked at the news to burst out today : A broken femur for French skipper Yann Elies. (official Vendee Globe link)
Blimey ! I’ve had a few broken bones over the years so I know how much minor fractures can hurt. I’ve never suffered anything on the scale of what Yann Elies has suffered today though and never while alone on a yacht more than a thousand miles from civilisation.
The full story can be found on the Vendee Globe site (link above) but a short summary is that Yann Elies has managed to crawl back inside his boat to get into a bunk and has the boat set up such that it is heading in the right direction without any intervention needed. Two Vendee Globe skippers have diverted to offer morale and psychological support. They’re Britain’s Sam Davies of Roxy and France’s Marc Guillemot. The Australian Anzac frigate HMAS Arunta has been diverted to rescue and evacuate but will take a day or so to get there.
Fingers crossed that the Aussies get Yann out ok. I’ll be keeping a closer eye on this one over the next few days. Looks like Yann’s able to keep the doctors ashore up to date with what’s happening, which is a good sign. It does remind you that we haven’t tamed this Earth of ours yet and it can still catch out even the most prepared and skilled people using the best equipment.
Hopefully in a few years time, Yann will be back for the next Vendee Globe and I’ll be adding him to the group of skippers I’ll be egging on.
(addon)
On a much brighter note, here’s a link to the Vendee Globe newswire with Sam Davies’ letter to Santa from before she diverted due to the incident above. G’wan, have a peek, it’s guaranteed to make you crack a smile.