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Frenchman Kevin Escoffier wanted to go around the world in the non-stop regatta. But instead, he had to be rescued in a spectacular way: in advance he desperately sent an SOS signal.
Jean Le Cam was standing on the deck of his yacht in the dead of night, desperately searching the roaring sea. His colleague Kevin Escoffier had to be somewhere nearby. On a life raft. Boris Herrmann from Hamburg also searched.
“Suddenly I saw lightning,” Le Cam, 61, reported of the spectacular rescue operation in the dead of night. A reflex immediately drove in that direction. “You change, despair becomes an unreal moment,” said the Frenchman, who finally threw a lifeline to his 40-year-old compatriot Escoffier. You can see more in the video above or here. At 2:18 am, the race management received the desired message.
“I’m sinking. This is not a joke.”
The skipper, who was in danger, was fine and then reported, emotionally upset, how his ship had split in two and his life was in danger. It was surreal. Like in a movie, “only worse,” Escoffier said: “In four seconds the nose of the ship was submerged, the bow bent 90 degrees, there was water everywhere and I had to send the message immediately before the electronics give up the ghost. “He said,” I need help. I’m sinking. This is not a joke. “
The third rider’s moment of shock in what was probably the toughest race in the world occurred early in the afternoon on Monday, and the first German competitor, Herrmann, also changed course to help. After the rescue, he resumed the race without stopping and without help around the world with a time credit. It is not yet known exactly how Le Cam and Escoffier will continue. You can’t stay on board forever, the food is only designed for one person.
Before that a broken mast and a broken sail
The incident shows once again what dangers brave captains can be exposed to. There have been deaths in the history of the Vendée Globe. In this year’s ninth edition, high-tech gear is also reaching its limits, as demonstrated by a broken mast and a broken mainsail on other competitors before the Escoffier accident.
Le Cam, the savior, has also long known how difficult the ocean race can be. On January 6, 2009, during the Vendée Globe 2008/2009, it was he who had to be pulled out of the water. His ship had sunk near Cape Horn.
