Ocean Globe Race yacht Triana (66) is diverting to Las Palmas to have injured crew member Stéphane Raguenes treated after he fell on deck causing a serious 9cm-long, 3cm-wide open wound on the back of his leg.
kipper of the French yacht Triana, Jean d’Arthuys alerted the Ocean Globe Race control of an incident on Sunday and the OGR declared a Code Orange alert.
Triana is currently lying first in the Adventure class and seventh overall in the race.
After the accident, Stéphane was taken below for first aid to stop the blood. He was sedated, given pain killers and was conscious, talking to his crew mates.
MSOS, the OGR 24-hour telemedicine team and TMAS International Telemedicine support, were contacted and photos of the injuries were transmitted via satellite for diagnosis. Medical advice was provided to the crew.
CROSS Gris-Nez, Maritime CoastGuard Agency, Portugal MRCC, Spain MRCC and Morocco MRCC were all informed. Stéphane’s next of kin were informed that while the wound was serious, it was not life-threatening.
Skipper Jean d’Arthuys weighed up a number of options in consultation with MSOS and OGR control to get the best care for his crew member.
An emergency evacuation to a nearby container ship CHICAGO E 10 miles away, which had a doctor onboard, was considered first.
Secondly, the transfer aboard of doctor Tanneguy Raffray from Neptune FR (56), another French OGR entrant, was considered as Neptune was just 12 miles away at the time.
But the weather conditions, with northeast winds of 17-20 knots and four-meters seas ruled out any transfers.
Diverting to Portugal, 135 miles to the east was another proposal. But Jean decided to continue South to Las Palmas. MRCC Las Palmas have been advised of the situation and request for a medivac once it arrives in the harbor.
The Swan 53 is now making best speed to Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, where Stéphane will be transferred to hospital, weather permitting, on Tuesday.
Triana is one of the smaller yachts in the race, with a crew of just eight, is leading the Adventure class by quite a margin despite being forced to stop racing for four hours on the third night to repair a broken steering cable.
She is considered by many as the one to watch. Skipper Jean d’Arthuys is a French media entrepreneur and winde maker and first mate Sébastien Audigane, first mate, is a well known sailor with six passages of Cape Horn and two Jules Verne round the world records.
The eight-month adventure is split into four legs, sailing around the three great Capes, Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, Australia’s Cape Leeuwin, and South America’s notorious Cape Horn. The course follows the original Clipper route, stopovers will include: Cape Town, Auckland and Punta del Este.
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