It’s the old hands who are having equipment problems – those with experienced support teams. First Dominique Wavre with a faulty electrical system control computer, now Michel Desjoyeaux. Mich’ also has a battery charging problem, but in his case it’s because the engine doesn’t really enjoy running underwater. The primary cause appears to be a small leak in the ballast tanks, but he returned because the engine was running hot enough to create a smell of burning. His support team have done their best to collect all the spares that might be necessary (a challenge in France, because tomorrow is a bank holiday – Armistice Day), and expect him, weather permitting, to arrive back around 22:00 tonight.
Sam Davies says it’s lucky she doesn’t get seasick – a small bottle of engine oil has burst all over everything in the aft toboggan, and the smell is almost as bad as the slime. Tonight’s forecast is for gusts up to 55 knots and big cross seas as the cold front comes through and the wind shifts round, so Sam won’t be cleaning up until that’s all over. She has my sympathy – it’s far worse than my Cowes-Cork experience many years ago, when a bottle of washing-up liquid spilled in the oilies locker. That just meant I had to climb up through the hatch very carefully, and came up blowing bubbles.
The jury has given its verdict after deliberating on the fact that Brian Thompson’s Bahrain Team Pindar still had some of the support team on board after the four minute countdown. He has been given a 4 hour penalty.
