Damage Update – Clarisse Crémer completes work to stabilize nearly four metres of damaged bulkhead.

Over the past few days, Clarisse Crémer has encountered tough conditions on The Transat CIC which have damaged her boat. Yesterday evening during the fourth day of racing, Clarisse undertook a routine check of her boat. During which she discovered a nearly 4-meter-long section of damage to the J3 bulkhead, she immediately notified her shore team and the race organisers.

To monitor the damage, she has outlined the area to see if the fissures remain stable or start to develop further.  After consulting through the night with her technical team and the race organisation Clarisse made the decision to continue racing but to make a technical pitstop in the Azores. L’Occitane en Provence is now heading for the closest safe port on the Island of Horta.

Due to the potential severity of the damage her technical team drew up plans for her to put in place a temporary stabilisation solution to limit further propagation (as permitted by the rules of the race).

The bulkhead has broken along the bottom side and a long crack is visible from port to starboard.  If she had continued on her trajectory into the incoming weather with conditions of 30-40 knots and waves of 4-5 metres, the boat and Clarisse could have been in severe trouble.

This morning Clarisse has completed 4 hours of work to stabilise the affected area by fitting a prop at the centre line of the bulkhead between the deck and the hull. This solution should minimize the risk of further damage. With this work complete she is now able to make her way to the Azores where her shore team will meet her to make a full assessment of the damage and to carry out repairs.