Hey Larry,

Joyon is an amazing guy, it's incredible how matter-of-fact his telling of the tale is...

"by Francis Joyon (in translation by SailRaceWin)

I was on my seat outside on the boat. I was beginning to drag myself from the zone of perturbed meteorology near the American coast. I had run about 90 miles on the route in very irregular and unstable conditions, with the wind poorly established in direction and oscillating between 10 and 30 knots. I had crossed some very intense stormy periods, marked by violent gusts, but it was at the moment that I thought I had extracted myself from this zone that I received a giant punch which catapulted the boat on to its side.

I was sailing under mainsail with three reefs with the small ORC foreward. The violence of the gust was such that the motion detector, a kind of alarm against capsizing, didn't have the time to go off. I felt the push and I chocked the mainsail and then the maintrack car. The wind continued to push very violently and I felt the boat literally catapulted into the air. In a few seconds, I was "on the roof". I found myself under water beneath the trampoline. I tried to orientate myself to see how to get back up into the free air. It was night and chaos. With an effort, I found myself near a float. I do not know how I rejoined the cross-member before I was able to hoist myself on to the platform. I then got into the interior of the boat through the survival trap door.

It seems to me that Idec has not suffered much. I have about 10cm of water in the interior. I was able to save my electronics. I recovered my Irridium phone to advise of my capsize. I have a torch that is very strong and, as I felt that the boat was going towards an important maritime traffic route towards New York, I passed the end of the night on the trampoline to signal my presence to the freighters. With daylight, this danger has receded.

I am in hourly contact with Christophe Houdet on land. I know that numerous people are looking for a tow boat. I am only 50 miles from Newport (Rhode Island). The boat seems intact to me and I know that the rigging is not rubbing against the platform. The sea state is relatively calm and the air temperature very agreable. I have things to eat. After a rescue tow boat arrives, I will be in a position to drop the rig and maybe try to right the boat in order to facilitate its recovery..."

And this news, from this morning:

"At noon yesterday an American rescue ship came to IDEC's location followed last night by the US Coast Guard ship, the USS Tiger Shark which will remain on station until the end of the salvage operation.

Meanwhile the IDEC Group and its President Patrice Lafargue along with Christophe Houdet from France were coordinated the salvage mission between the CROSS in France and its US equivalent the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Boston, to find a vessel capable of towing the giant trimaran into a US port. A tug of the company Miller Marine Service based in Port Jefferson, Long Island has been en route to IDEC since last night en route. The boat, with three divers on board, should reach IDEC at around to 1300 GMT (ie 0800 local time), then the operation to free the rig and possibly right the boat ready for towing will take place.

It seems very likely that IDEC to will be towed to Newport, Rhode Island."

best regards,

Jon