Near Crash
I got the chance to interview Xavier Derille. He is the Team Owner and Manager of the Puma Racing Team.
We talked about the race in Benalmadena, Spain. This race was under the auspices of the UIM.
That tells me that this is the real stuff.
By the way, this video was published on the RIBs ONLY YouTube channel.
What happened?
As you have seen, the weather conditions were not the best. At the start of heat 2 they had a very good position.
The team experienced excessive nose-lift during training. They decided to add 25 kg to the very front of the nose.
In order to offer them the indispensable view during the take-off procedure, they also had the flaps set.
During the race, they both noticed an approaching wave just too late (00:21).
In a split second, they were almost perpendicular to the water.
The flaps hit the next wave and the bow flipped down.
The Team’s Story
“In this nearly avoided crash our Puma RIB once again illustrated its strength.
We are well aware that it would have ended very differently with a different hull.
Benalmadena was indeed the first test on the high seas for this new foredeck cover.
We invested about 150 hours during the winter period in it.
After our “semi nose dive,” we quasi immediately hit the accelerator again.
We immediately noticed that the carbon-kevlar cover of the foredeck was making strange jumps.
The risk that we would lose this cover during the race was real and we would get a black flag meaning end of the race.
In addition, my co-pilot, Jeroen Haverbeke reported that trimming was no longer possible either. We had no other option than to finish the race.
We set out at an average speed of 70-80 kph.
We even had time to greet our numerous supporters as we crossed the finish line. So great to see they stand by us, no matter what.
After this incident-rich weekend, with a near crash, it once again became clear. Being present and finishing the race is essential.”
RIBs ONLY thanks Xavier Derille for this fine interview and wishes the team a next fast and safe race.
