The Ocean Race Leg 6: They're back!!!

There were tears on the dockside Wednesday afternoon as GUYOT environnement - Team Europe backed onto the pontoon in Aarhus alongside their four competitors. As the docklines were thrown across to the pontoon in front of a large cheering crowd, their team song blared out of the race village speakers. 

This was the moment, an emotional reunion where tears of relief, joy and companionship took even the toughest of offshore hearts by surprise. 

With just over a day to go before the start of Leg 6 Benjamin Detreux’ team had battled the odds and were now back in the race. And while they were clearly delighted at achieving this part of their goal, it was also clear that they were visibly moved by the reception that they had received and the reminder as to how many people had helped in getting them back in the race. 

As he thanked those that had played such a crucial part, including all four of his competitors and their sponsors - 11th Hour Racing, Biotherm, Holcim and Malizia - the French skipper struggled to conceal his emotions. 

© Sailing Energy / The Ocean Race

On the face of it, the team has had plenty of time to visualise getting back into the race but since losing the mast a month ago, it was only now that they could feel that they were truly on their way back into the race. 

“It's been a long journey and a very emotional one arriving here today for our team,” said crew member Annie Lush. 

“We've had so much support from all the other teams, the race organisers and all the stakeholders and not just words, we just couldn't have got here without their support. So, it's amazing to see their excitement that we're back. It's a stark contrast to that moment floating in the Atlantic without a mast, we felt pretty alone. 

“Until Friday lunchtime five days ago, having to retire from the race was still a real possibility. It has been very tough to get here. It's been a hard few weeks in terms of the amount of work that’s been required, but also mentally. Every day we seem to have been dancing between we're on, we're off, there are so many factors involved in this, from logistics to boat building, financial issues to insurance, there are many factors and any one of them could have stopped us.”

© Sailing Energy / The Ocean Race

But before the repairs could begin the logistics of getting the boat to shore after the dismasting was the first in a long line of huge hurdles as crew member Robert Stanjek explained.

“The coordinates where we lost the mast is right over the Titanic. I think the next footage from the wreck will deliver a few surprises,” he joked.

“The Gulf Stream current was still running at quite a speed when we dis-masted which meant it wasn't easy getting out of it. We also had a big storm overnight. We didn't have that much diesel but we had to invest a lot of it to get out of the Gulf Stream because we were being pulled towards Europe. And we also had a huge sea state to deal with. 

“So, finally when we got out of the main current, we were down to just 20 litres of diesel and we had to keep some back to keep the boat running, charging batteries for communications, the watermaker and so on. We considered other options like towing to Newport but that was so expensive. Then we asked for 200 litres diesel from cargo ships and we received a quote for $68,000. 

© Sailing Energy / The Ocean Race

“But in the end we met Ibrahim, he was just a fantastic captain. He stopped his boat and transferred the fuel in a 50 ltr canister, can by can. They were a fantastic crew. The next day when the sea state became a little less difficult we built a jury rig and with a combination of engine and a little bit of sailing we got to Halifax. 

“After that GAC Pindar managed to find a cargo line going directly from Halifax to Hamburg which is an hour by truck to Kiel.

“We have a few more cities on our stopover list now than the other teams. This is the city number ten, since we started the project. The boat has been out of the water more than expected and it's been a big operation in the last days, but it has also been an amazing team.

“When we dismasted the race seemed over to me because I simply couldn't see a logistical and financially viable solution. Plus, the damage to the boat was big. Then I received a call from a good friend of mine Marc Pickel who said this can't be over, what about if we repair the boat in Kiel? And so we started to work on this option.

© Sailing Energy / The Ocean Race

“It's been an amazing spirit in the boatyard where we worked through the nights to get the big repairs under control. We had great facilities in Kiel, a great network and the city of Kiel supported us a lot at the boatyard especially. A lot of people were involved.

“Then 11th Hour Racing team offered their spare mast so the big pieces of the puzzle started coming together.

“This race is not only about results, it's also about falling, getting up again, making the impossible possible and the solidarity from the other teams and the race of leaving no one behind is such a good message to send out there. And I'm so thankful for the push everyone gave, it wouldn't have been possible to do it alone - incredible. 

“Emotionally I'm very exhausted, but I'm also very happy to be here. We're going to fight and we're going to do everything to get a solid result for the next two legs and then we will see where that leads.”

Annie Lush also knows what lies ahead. 

“I think I've just realised that we're not going to get any sleep now for a while. But I guess one thing we've learnt is we can overcome anything, so that's a good thing to know. We're back in our The Ocean Race Europe configuration for this leg so hopefully we can repeat those performances. 

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Cover photo © Sailing Energy / The Ocean Race