For safety reasons the Vendée Arctique Les Sables d’Olonne race is neutralized. The deterioration of the weather conditions in the North Atlantic have forced the organisation on the Vendée Arctique Les Sables d’Olonne race to make a difficult decision. The race will be neutralized after passing through the virtual gate located in the southeast of Iceland.
The leading skipper should make this passage in the middle of this Thursday night or early morning Friday. Thereafter the skippers will be able to take shelter and wait for this depression to pass. The terms of the resumption of the race are currently under discussion and will soon be formalized.
Reaction of Francis Le Goff, race director of the Vendée-Arctique-Les Sables d'Olonne:
“For the leading skippers, the conditions were going to be particularly bad tomorrow afternoon because of this depression which is gradually deepening towards the North-East of Iceland. We are expecting strong winds of 35 to 40 knots, so that means gusts of over 50 knots. In the interests of equity and fair play we have therefore decided that the skippers can take shelter as soon as they have passed the gate located in the South-East of Iceland. We will log everyone's time at the gate before they can get to safety. We have started discussions with ports that might be able to accommodate them. The race will then resume according to the terms that we are in the process of defining."
Source : vendeearctique.org