Sodebo abandons their attempt at Jules Vene Trophy

[Tomahawk]

Just seen,

Visual stories : Jour 16 / 10.12.2020 - Sodebo Ultim 3 - Sodebo - Trophée Jules Verne

I can’t do a copy anf translate on the website but from my rusty French it appears they have suffered damage to the starboard foil.

 

[davidaprice]

It's not possible to copy-paste the text from the website, so I laboriously typed it out, hopefully no typos:

Sodebo Ultim 3 met fin à sa tentative de Trophée Jules Verne

Après un peu plus de 16 jours de mer, l’équipage de Sodebo Ultim 3 a décidé ce vendredi 11 décembre d’interrompre sa tentative sur le Trophée Jules Verne.
Alors qu’ils naviguaient entre les Kerguelen et le Cap Leeuwin, à plus de 30 nœuds, Thomas Coville et ses sept équipiers ont constaté une avarie sur le safran tribord. Après plusieurs heures de travail acharné, d’échanges avec l’équipe technique à terre, ils ont dû se rendre à l’évidence.
La réparation ne permet plus au bateau de naviguer à 100% de ses capacités pour tenter de battre le record du Trophée Jules Verne, ils ont décidé d’interrompre leur tentative débutée le 25 novembre à 2h55.
Thomas Coville, François Duguet, Sam Goodchild, Corentin Horeau, Martin Keruzoré, François Morvan, Thomas Rouxel et Matthieu Vandame auront montré que Sodebo Ultim 3 avait le potentiel pour battre le record d’Idec Sport (40 jours 23 heures et 30 minutes).
C’est donc légitimement très déçus qu’ils renoncent à la suite de ce tour du monde, mais avec la conviction que le record est à leur portée.
Pour la suite des opérations et des questions de logistiques, ils font route vers la Réunion distant de 2300 milles d’où ils se trouvent actuellement - afin de fiabiliser le bateau et repartir en toute sécurité vers Lorient.

 

[davidaprice]

And Google Translate:

Sodebo Ultim 3 puts an end to its Jules Verne Trophy attempt

After a little more than 16 days at sea, the Sodebo Ultim 3 crew decided on Friday December 11 to stop their attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy.
While sailing between the Kerguelen and Cape Leeuwin, at over 30 knots, Thomas Coville and his seven crew noticed damage to the starboard rudder. After several hours of hard work, exchanges with the technical team on land, they had to face the facts.
The repair no longer allows the boat to sail at 100% of its capacity in an attempt to beat the Jules Verne Trophy record, they have decided to stop their attempt which began on November 25 at 2:55 am.
Thomas Coville, François Duguet, Sam Goodchild, Corentin Horeau, Martin Keruzoré, François Morvan, Thomas Rouxel and Matthieu Vandame will have shown that Sodebo Ultim 3 has the potential to break Idec Sport's record (40 days 23 hours and 30 minutes). It is therefore legitimately very disappointed that they give up following this world tour, but with the conviction that the record is within their reach.
For the rest of the operations and logistical questions, they are heading for Reunion, 2300 miles from where they are now - in order to make the boat more reliable and return safely to Lorient.

 

[RichardS]

Copy and paste from English version of website:

After a little over 16 days at sea, the crew of Sodebo Ultim 3 decided this Friday, December 11 to stop their attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy.
While sailing between the Kerguelen and Cape Leeuwin, at more than 30 knots, Thomas Coville and his seven crew noticed damage to the starboard rudder. After several hours of hard work, discussions with the technical team on land, they had to face the facts.

The repair no longer allows the boat to sail at 100% of its capacity in an attempt to beat the Jules Verne Trophy record, they have decided to interrupt their attempt, which began on November 25 at 2:55 a.m.

Thomas Coville, François Duguet, Sam Goodchild, Corentin Horeau, Martin Keruzoré, François Morvan, Thomas Rouxel and Matthieu Vandame will have shown that Sodebo Ultim 3 has the potential to beat the Idec Sport record (40 days 23 hours and 30 minutes).

It is therefore legitimately very disappointed that they give up following this round the world tour, but with the conviction that the record is within their reach.
For the rest of the operations and logistical questions, they are heading for Reunion - 2300 miles from where they are now - in order to make the boat more reliable and return safely to Lorient.

Patricia Brochard, co-president of Sodebo: “Getting involved in the Jules Verne Trophy requires a very high level of human and technical preparation. Thomas, François, Sam, Corentin, Martin, François, Thomas and Matthieu rose to this challenge and showed total mental and physical commitment. On land, the routing unit and the entire Lorient team were also admirable during this attempt. I want to thank them for all the work done. We have succeeded in making our audiences dream through this extraordinary adventure. This abandonment is of course a disappointment for all. But he will also be a trainer and learner in order to meet our next challenges. "

Richard

 

[Tomahawk]

Nothng about what caused the damage?

 

[RichardS]

Nothng about what caused the damage?

Presumably underwater impact damage like many of the VG boats? I doubt whether it will ever be possible to be more specific.

At the high speeds of these boats an impact which we would not even notice will have a much worse effect.

Richard

 

[Tomahawk]

Seems there are three obvious potential causes. Man made floating objects and large fish/whales.... and ice. They were a long way south of the VG fleet.

 

[Stemar]

Seems there are three obvious potential causes. Man made floating objects and large fish/whales.... and ice. They were a long way south of the VG fleet.

Or just relentless pounding from big waves. No matter how clever the technology, there's always a delicate balance between light enough to be fast and heavy enough to be strong, even if that heavy enough is incredibly light compared with a few years ago.

 

[mjcoon]

Or just relentless pounding from big waves. No matter how clever the technology, there's always a delicate balance between light enough to be fast and heavy enough to be strong, even if that heavy enough is incredibly light compared with a few years ago.

I suppose there is also the effect of a light craft hitting a solid object and stopping dead. But the crew keep moving until they meet some part of the structure... So if the foils are the only part in the water and thus going to collide with anything, maybe they have to act as crumple zones?

 

[dgadee]

They need elastic bands on their rudders to handle sudden shock! I am off to patent the idea now.

 

[Tomahawk]

Whichever way.. I feel sad for them.
They were doing very well then this..

 

[Frogmogman]

Very disappointing for them all, it was going so well.

I'm sure Robert the Bruce could find some words of encouragement for them....