Vendee Globe Report 61 Jan 21. DAMAGE Sam Goodchild Destroys Mainsail, Boris Breaks Foil, Eric Back

Sam Goodchild, the British skipper of the yacht VULNERABLE, informed his technical team shortly before 1pm, that his mainsail had torn. It literally exploded during an untimely gybe under autopilot, at the level of the 3rd batten, across the entire width, from leech to luff, as the yacht battled winds of almost 30 knots. Sam resumed his course, mainsail down, with the J2 and J3 in scissors. He had been fighting tooth and nail since the latitude of Itajai in Brazil with Jérémie Beyou, (Charal), for 4th place at the time of the incident. Certainly one of the great revelations of this Vendée Globe, Sam, showing since the start great skill, calm and limpid navigation, appeared at the head of the fleet many times at the beginning of the race. He will now throw his last forces to finish his first Vendée Globe, in the best possible place.