Cheminées Poujoulat Update..... Stamm Retires

For three long days, Bernard Stamm has been running his IMOCA 60 Cheminées Poujoulat on emergency energy rations after a UFO disabled both of his hydrogenerators. He was able to contact his shore team only once a day to determine a plan of action, which ended up with his friend Unaï Basurko — a Basque sailor who happened to be in Ushuaia — delivering diesel to Stamm after his Cape Horn rounding hours ago. Shortly thereafter, Stamm notified race organizers that he was officially retiring from the race.

Now with the ability to charge his batteries, Stamm can once again run all of his instruments, including his autopilot, which he had to make due without . . . in the Southern Ocean! (He reports having caught only five hours of sleep in the last three days.) He's intent on continuing on to Les Sables d'Olonne at top speed to finish with the rest of the fleet.

"The entire Cheminées Poujoulat team wishes to wholeheartedly thank Unaï Basurko and the Pakea Bizcaïa crew for their precious help and their response in these difficult moments," read a press release from Stamm's team. "The competition outcome may not be the one we all expected, but their generosity gave this sailors’ story a very strong human dimension."