Roland Jourdain heading for Azores

In the Vendée Globe, second-placed Roland Jourdain has called his shore team to tell them that he has a problem with his keel.

For the moment, Jourdain’s Open 60, Veolia Environnement is stable and continuing on her way towards the island of Sao Miguel in the Azores, some 640 miles to his North East.

Towards the end of the night while sailing under mainsail and genoa, Jourdain heard a suspicious noise on board Veolia Environnement and went to find out where it came from.  He stopped his boat to inspect it, but did not find anything unusual.  It was only after trimming the sails on again that the boat took on an abnormal heel.

Jourdain concluded almost immediately that there is damage to his keel.  For the moment, he does not know whether he has lost the bulb or whether the keel blade has been damaged.

Today’s problem is possibly a consequence of his collision with a sea mammal on 8th January as the boat has had no subsequent impact with any type of floating objects.

Vendée Globe