News
BT on her way back home3 December 2009
Upon arriving back in the UK this Sunday, the BT IMOCA 60 yacht will be lifted out of the water in Cowes and go straight in to short but intensive refit to bring her back to full racing condition for the 2010 IMOCA season, albeit no longer as ‘BT’. BT, skippered by Seb Josse, whose chances of winning the Transat Jacques Vabre were shattered by a giant breaking wave which crushed her coachroof less than three weeks ago, is now on her way back towards England, after having left Praia da Vitoria (Terceira Island, Azores) on Monday, November the 30th. Aboard the "Beautriton" cargo ship, the IMOCA 60 will arrive in Southampton next Sunday, before being towed across the Solent, back to Medina Yard in Cowes on the Isle of Wight - the yard where she was built in 2007. Considering the beating she took in the Atlantic after having suffered the blow that forced her crew to abandon her, the boat is in very good shape and has not suffered structurally, as the surveyor who assessed the damage in the Azores was able to confirm. As a result, the repairs and refit should prove to be straightforward, and everything is already in place in Cowes to welcome the BT yacht.
First battle won, just in time...18 November 2009
The BT yacht is now inside the harbour in Terceira (Azores), all but submerged but safe from the Atlantic ocean waves that have been battering her since Friday. The BT Team technical crew let out a sigh of relief upon entering the port of Praia da Vitoria this morning. After more than 60 hours without any proper sleep, Charles Darbyshire, Rhys Mellor and Pierre-Emmanuel Hérrise now have to wait for the 60-knot winds to drop before craning the monohull out of the water. As Charlie reported at 0800 GMT this morning: "We're inside the harbour so things are better but we're waiting for daylight and a container ship to leave so we can get alongside. BT is completely underwater when upright and when she lists over you can just see the top of the BT logo on her topsides. We've come this far, we're determined to finish the job but even now it's not a done deal."
BT skippers in Paris today, Ellen on BBC1 tonight...17 November 2009
In the Paris studio today during the Transat Jacques Vabre daily radio vacation, Sébastien Josse and Jean-François Cuzon gave more details about the rescue operation that followed the breakage of the BT IMOCA 60 yacht… An operation that has been captured on video by the Portuguese Air Force, and which is now available for viewing on the website (details below). In the meantime, on the Atlantic, things are still complicated as far as the boat's salvage process is concerned. On a more lighter note, tonight on BBC1 at 9.00pm see the final episode of 'Around the World In 80 Days', the challenge that sees celebrity guests attempt to recreate Phileas Fogg’s famous fictional journey for Children in Need. The two celebrities, Josie Lawrence and Shane Ritchie, who have to cover America, the Atlantic and the final hurdle - the English Channel - where they enlist the help up a certain famous sailing Dame! Ellen joins the celebrity duo and the crew of the IMOCA 60 Artemis to bring Josie and Shane back to UK shores for their final sprint to London.
Tricky salvage operation underway for the BT Yacht16 November 2009
Having left Horta (Azores) yesterday mid-afternoon, the "Ilha de Sao Luis" tugboat chartered to try and salvage the BT yacht is currently attempting to tow the stricken monohull back to the Azores… but difficult weather conditions and the sheer weight of the IMOCA 60' full of water make for a very tricky operation. The 26-metre long "Ilha de Sao Luis" tugboat, with BT Team members Charles Darbyshire, Rhys Mellor and Pierre-Emmenuel Hérissé on board, reched BT's position at approximately 12:00 GMT today. The stricken monohull was drifting in rough seas some 115 miles North of Terceira (Azores). The yacht is listing on her port side, due to the keel being canted, the cockpit, the coachroof and the area aft of the mast are underwater…The "special convoy" is crawling its way towards the Azores, not expecting to be able to exceed 4 knots of speed at best. The BT Technical Team is expecting to spend long and difficult hours at sea, but everyone is fully determined and focused on that mission.
