Those fabulous sailors in Saint-Malo…

On board the Laiterie de Saint-Malo trimaran, the youngsters, all extremely keen sailors, took up the challenge of crossing almost all of the North Atlantic without a rudder following a collision with a cetacean. They thus finished fifth in the fifty-foot boats. But in the Vauban Basin in the Breton port, these local lads, who managed to bring home their wounded bird, are without any doubt the real crowd pleasers…

He had just moored Laiterie de Saint-Malo up at the pontoon of honour. He could not hide his emotions and the feelings overwhelmed him, as with his three accomplices, he enjoyed this great moment of pleasure: "This finish was highly emotional: more even than my first Route du Rhum. I can hardly believe we managed it, as it was a bit hard at times! When we collided with the whale, 300 miles east of Newfoundland, everything collapsed for us. We had set out with the intention of being up with the winners. At that moment, we were really going for it, even if we had a good margin to play with: in any case, we managed to claw back the miles. Thanks to all those, who have given us their support and for this welcome, which looks as if we'd won!"

It is 09h30 and the Vauban Basin is packed. The local youngsters from Saint-Malo, took up the challenge and brought their 13.6 metre trimaran home, even if they had to make do without the steering and cover 2000 miles or so in this danger predicament. Yes, like Franck-Yves Escoffier, the overall winner on board Crêpes Whaou!, they have achieved a great victory: they knew they should never give up and they were determined to stick with it, in spite of this major damage. 270 miles in 24 hours with no rudder. It all happened on 27th July 300 miles east of Newfoundland. Sailing at full speed and on full power chasing after Crêpes Whaou!, Laiterie de Saint-Malo was suddenly stopped following a collision with a whale. The accident led to the loss of the rudder, the only one fitted on this old generation trimaran. The rest of the story is well known: Victorien and the lads carried on regardless sailing downwind in some very strong conditions.

The figures speak for themselves: 10 days of sailing without a rudder, 2100 miles on the clock (1631 miles on the direct route), 270 miles covered in 24 hours... Clearly, the crew showed some extraordinary seamanship in spite of their stroke of bad luck. Sails angled out, drag lines, improvised steering using the winches: the four associates remained confident and inspired to ensure they would bring their trimaran home. «In light conditions, she is not as fast as multihulls from the latest generation, but in a breeze, she can fully express her sea-keeping abilities. We covered 460 miles at the start of the Atlantic crossing,» explained Loïc Escoffier, before adding: «But what really surprised us was what happened after the loss of the rudder. We reached peak speeds of 22 knots , which wasn't really very reassuring, but we never once thought about capsizing.»

A fabulous human adventure
These ten days of sailing without a rudder and this seventh Transat Quebec-Saint Malo will remain in the minds of these young guns for a long time to come, and they were welcomed home as heroes in Saint-Malo. We shall leave the last word to Erwan Thibouméry: «We did the job well. The boat is here. I'm pleased to see her mast in the Vauban Basin. We're pleased to have brought her home. We set sail on a race and ended up experiencing a fabulous human adventure. It was a truly magnificent experience for us... » That really says it all!