The Vendée Globe: Yann’s rescue

This has been a rather eventful week in the Vendée Globe, to say the least.

The biggest story – eclipsing other big news which I’ll get to soon – was Yann Elies’s injury and subsequent rescue.

Generali drifting under reduced sail with injured Yann below

Yann was on deck making a sail change when Generali slammed into a big wave. This is by no means an unusual event in this part of the ocean; it was just bad luck that he was working up at the bow when it happened. He was thrown to the deck, breaking his femur and probably several ribs.
He somehow managed to crawl back into the cockpit and then below-decks to radio for help.

For the next forty-eight hours he waited on his bunk at the nav station, in too much pain even to move across the cabin to open his medical kit (which contained morphine).

The two closest boats were Marc Guillemot’s Safran and Sam Davies’ Roxy, which were both asked to divert from their current course to Generali’s location. They wouldn’t be able to do much once they got there: the sea is very rarely flat enough to allow two yachts to tie up together. Their presence there would be more for emotional and psychological support.

Generali as seen from Marc Guillemot’s Safran

Marc Guillemot arrived within twenty-four hours and was able to stay close by and chat with Yann as they waited for rescue from the Australian navy. Marc put together some packages containing water and morphine and tried to toss them though Generali’s hatch, but the seas were too difficult.

Eventually, Guillemot was able to talk Yann through each movement across the cabin to get at his medical kit. He finally got some painkillers into him and was able to sleep for a while.

Forty-eight hours after his injury, HMS Arunta, an Australian navy frigate, managed to extract Yann from his yacht using a RIB (Rigid Inflatable, like a Zodiac). He’s now resting comfortably aboard Arunta, under medical care, and is heading for a civilian hospital in Perth.

The story is all over the BBC just now. This is the first time they’ve even mentioned the Vendée Globe. Well done, BBC. Wait for the big tragedy then cycle it repeatedly.

I’ve been thinking about Elias and what it must have beeen like out there, by yourself with a broken leg, not knowing when help will arrive. The pain was sure to be excruciating. He must have been so grateful to have Marc there for him, even if conditions were too rough for any physical assistance.

The rescue as observed from Safran

It’s the risk you take with such a race. The boats are so fast, the ocean so rough and unpredictable, that a broach or a nose-plant are in no way avoidable. With traditional cruising yachts, your speed is such that the impacts against the waves (and the waves against the boat) have much less force. Water is hard – the impact can be incredibly loud and shake the whole boat, even at just five or six  knots. Image at four times that speed. The impact is unbelievable, even to the racers themselves.

I got thrown around a few times during my time at sea, usually when I had to use both hands for some operation like changing a sail or making tea. I would try and time my activities with the trough of the waves, but the sea is rarely orderly. The waves take on the general pattern of the wind, but when it changes direction (as it does), the seas can take many hours before they are once again in harmony with the wind. In the meantime there’s a lot of chop – waves crashing together from all directions, causing an even higher and more dangerous swell. It’s during this sea-state where accidents happen.

It was one of these cross-waves that probably got Generali.  Head down for one second, working on getting that halyard on, and SLAM.

Much of the rest of the fleet has gotten a little spooked over this unfortunate event. Some have reduced speed, others are now wearing helmets. Elies’ injury will now be part of their decision making process. The ocean is capable of dishing out bucket after bucket of nastiness and misery. It’s not that the ocean is mean or cruel. It’s that there is no way of beating it. One can attempt an understanding though: it’s the only way to get home.

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More on the rest of the Southern Ocean carnage coming soon….