French skipper Sébastien Josse has just confirmed that he has taken the tough decision to head for New Zealand, probably Auckland, and so ending his dream of winning this Vendée Globe.

 

 

Josse had sailed an assured, highly creditable race until he was flattened by the wave which was driven by 60 knot gusts in a malicious storm on Boxing Day.

 

He lead the race for eight days, continually balancing prudent strategies with fast boat speeds. He was in fourth place, one of the most consistent ‘four musketeers’ who have made the pace of this remarkable sixth edition of the Vendée Globe, and  less than 140 miles behind Michel Desjoueaux when the incident happened.

 

As well as losing the mast-head wind instruments, Josse has three cracks in the coachroof of BT, damaged bulkhead but most critically his port rudder is bent and cannot be repaired.

Josse, fifth in the 2004 Vendée Globe in an older boat, had put all the intervening years of experience into the BT programme, including skippering ABN Amro 2 in the last Volvo Ocean Race.