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Thomas Ruyant loses J2 headsail

This Thursday afternoon, off the coast of Montevideo (Uruguay), Thomas Ruyant was suddenly caught in an extremely violent squall with winds exceeding 55 knots. The squall was so strong and sudden Ruyant’s IMOCA VULNERABLE was knocked flat.

The Koch-Finot Conq design righted itself promptly but it was to the detriment of the headsail which he had been sailing with for several days The J2 is a working headsail of approximately 100 m2 fixed to a structural. The sail suffered in this brutal broach. Ruyant waited for a lull to go out on deck to assess the damage. 

The J2 is reported to be shredded and so now unusable. This incident comes on top of  damage suffered a few days ago to the first reef of the mainsail, which he  can no longer set despite numerous repair attempts. 

The skipper from Dunkirk is currently fourth in the provisional ranking of the 10th edition of the Vendée Globe.

The J2 is in the hold… it’s destroyed. It’s completely torn off along the luff sleeve. There are still a few m2 in tatters, just under the headboard, a little furled up there. I’ve never had anything like it. There were about 20 knots then the wind got up all of a sudden. I didn’t see it coming. It went into tornado mode. It lasted 2 hours, with 45 to 60 knots!

Thomas Ruyant
VULNERABLE

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Un J2 en lambeaux pour Thomas Ruyant | Vendée Globe 2024

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Thomas Ruyant

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