It seems the story abou the two sailors aboard the yacht Rivages (previously the Cheminées Poujoulat) off the Scillies last week was reported with some degree of inaccuracy in the media!
Here is an interview with the skipper himself giving his account of the events that led up to the rescue - he was not competing in the Vendee but in facts sailing the boat home back across the Atlantic - he therefore had little choice about the weather that he found himself in that night!
The yacht, Rivages has always been known as Cheminées Poujoulat since her official launch. The skipper Bernard Stamm of Swiss origin, but based in Brittany is a legend in round the world sailing having won two editions of the solo race with stopovers (Velux 5 Oceans / Around Alone) and was for ten years the holder of the solo transatlantic record. Wit an interesting Newlyn connection, his career took off thanks largely to the help of the fishing community in Lesconil, which helped him build his first racing boat. Boats like the Bugaled Breizh, Oceanide, Le Heidi and Kristel Vihan from this port have been regular visitors to Newlyn over the years often sheltering for weather.
Following on from the loss of their monohull Cheminées Poujoulat off the tip of Cornwall during the night, Bernard Stamm and Damien Guillou were recovered early this morning by a cargo vessel heading for Rotterdam. The Swiss skipper contacted by his press service explained what happened.
Bernard, can you tell us about the accident? What exactly happened?
“Damien and I were sailing 200 miles off the tip of Cornwall around 180 miles from Brest. We were sailing downwind just ahead of the front. The wind was blowing at between 43 and 45 knots, but we were coping. We had prepared ourselves for this gale. We were already under storm sail with 4 reefs in the mainsail. In other words, we had the hand brake on, but crashing down on a wave the boat broke in two, just in front of the daggerboards. The mast didn’t come down immediately. We quickly closed all the watertight compartments and then the mast fell backwards. We quickly asked for help then organised our survival on board.”
What do you mean?
“We got ready to abandon the boat. The seas were high so we tried to work out how much damage there was likely to be to Cheminées Poujoulat. With Damien, I tried to free the mast of the 60-foot boat, but we couldn’t manage it. It was really too dangerous. However we managed to shift it enough so that it fell into the water and stopped banging into the hull. Straight after that, inside the boat we got together the survival gear. Obviously we didn’t know how much longer the boat would remain afloat.”
How did the rescue operation go?
“A Falcon 50 based in Hyères reached us at around 2330 hrs after refuelling in Bordeaux. They coordinated the rescue before a marine patrol plane took over around six this morning. Meanwhile, an attempt was made to lift us off by helicopter by the British rescue team on a Sea King. They asked us to put the raft in the water so that a diver could pick us up. We did that, but Damien and I just couldn’t get away from the boat. It was really dangerous, as we kept banging into the broken bow. In the end, we had to get back on board Cheminées Poujoulat leaving most of our water, survival kit, phone, rockets on the life raft. In other words, we had played our best cards.”
What happened next?
“The rescue team suggested we swim across to to try to pick us up directly in the water. Unfortunately that didn’t work either. Worse still, I found it really tough getting back aboard the boat. So for me it was a huge blow. After that, as we no longer had access to the sail hold where our second life raft is, five others were thrown out of the airplane, but ended up too far from us. Then the cargo ship arrived and manoeuvred to get alongside us. A line was thrown to us, but we almost got crushed against the cargo ship in the operation and meanwhile Cheminées Poujoulat was continuing to sink. The crew threw us another line as we found ourselves towards the stern section of the cargo vessel, standing on the transom, but we managed to catch it and block the boat. They then dropped down another line but we got thrown across the top of the coach roof. Damien came to a standstill, but I was thrown 80 metres into the water, sometimes going under, until I managed to grab the line. Damien was swimming alongside the cargo ship but thanks to a lifebuoy around him also managed to catch the line and get out of there. It was really close, as the seas were high and Cheminées Poujoulat at that point was almost entirely under the water. There was just a bit of the stern section sticking out with the bow hanging in front of the stays. It was really tough seeing her like that.”
Now safely aboard the cargo vessel Star Isfjord, you’re on your way to Rotterdam?
“Yes. The Filipino crew who came to our rescue showed incredible skill and are now on their way to the Netherlands, where we are due to arrive tomorrow evening. I’d like to thank all those who aided us during this huger rescue operation. From the bottom of my heart.”
Full story here: