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| |  Sunday, 13 May, 2001, 18:02 GMT 19:02 UK Day 2: Two boats pull out Latest positions in the Challenge Mondial at 15:00 BST The leading boats are about 300 miles into the north west Atlantic. Two of the eight skippers competing in the Challenge Mondial have suffered boat damage 350 miles out to sea and been forced to turn back. Jean Le Cam's Bonduelle became the latest trimaran to turn for home when a pulley broke free and smashed a 12-inch hole in the hull. The crew were forced to use their T-shirts, plastic bags and resin to try and plug the gap. "We were sailing on port-tack in a 20 knots breeze when we heard a big crack.
"We're very disappointed, but we're glad the mast didn't fall." The news came just an hour after Layou Roucayrol confirmed he too would be returning to port after damaging the mast of his Banque Populaire. Roucayrol's trimaran was sitting in third place when disaster struck in the north west Atlantic. He took the decision to head back to Port-la-For�t in Brittany order to carry out repairs to his boat, a brand-new design only launched in April. Bonduelle has officially withdrawn from the race but Roucayrol will assess the damage before making his decision.
However, his chance of winning the non-stop race to Spain via the Azores, has surely gone. Alain Gautier's Foncia-Kingfisher, the boat Ellen MacArthur is navigating, is still in the lead, about 36 miles ahead of Groupama. Yvan Bourgnon's Bayer, which overtook Foncia at the front of the pack just after the start of the race before falling away dramatically, is now back in contention. Bourgnon had opted for a more southerly route which initially saw him slip back to sixth due to lack of wind. But by Sunday evening, he was back in third having closed the gap on Groupama to just four miles.
Banque Populaire suffered damage after a rope used to raise the sail came loose and damaged the mast. "The staysail's hook, a big piece made of titanium, broke down," said Roucayrol. "As a result, the staysail flew in the air and damaged the mast. "Needless to say that we're really disappointed as we were in third position and doing well. "We will take off the mast on Monday morning and see how long will the repair take. "For the moment we don't want to pull out of the race, we're still hoping to start again." The brand new trimaran was launched in April. "The hook is a special piece designed especially for the boat and we still don't know yet why it broke," Roucayrol added. | |
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