Stamm pulls out of Vendée Globe
Swiss sailor Bernard Stamm has decided to pull out of the Vendée Globe round the world sailing race after suffering a series of technical problems.
“I’m stopping,” Stamm confirmed on Sunday, 10 days after the race’s start. “The two automatic pilots have failed and the motor which I have stripped down has dried but won’t start again.”
The rules of the Vendée Globe race do not allow the one-man boats to come ashore or receive outside help, even in the event of medical problems or technical breakdowns.
Swiss hopes now rest on Geneva’s Dominique Wavre who is trying to become the first non-Frenchman to make it onto the final podium. But he too has been suffering from technical difficulties.
On Sunday Wavre said he had sustained damage to one of his sails and estimated that it would take him up to a day to repair.
As the race moved down the western coast of Africa, Wavre was said to be in tenth place, some 340 nautical miles behind current leader Yves Parlier.
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