The legendary sailboat “Kriter V” sinks to the bottom of the port of Saint-Malo

He had failed to register his name on the winners of the first edition of the Route du Rhum. Beaten for 98 seconds by Mike Birch and his Olympus Photography in 1978, the sailboat Kriter V skippered by Michel Malinovsky has nevertheless contributed to the legend of the transatlantic race. During the night from Sunday to Monday, the 21-meter-long monohull nevertheless sank out of sight. Perhaps shaken by the gusts of wind from storm Gérard, Kriter V sank about six meters deep in the port of Saint-Malo (Ille-et-Vilaine) where it was moored.

Only part of its mast remains visible today, as evidenced by a photo taken by a sailing enthusiast. Is it a waterway or a hatch accidentally left open? The investigation will tell. While waiting to find out the reasons for this sudden dive, the sailboat remains in apnea. It will be up to its owner, who offers it for rent, to decide its fate.

Two abandonments for waterways

Since its mythical second place in 1978, the sailboat has not stopped competing. On several occasions, the monohull lined up at the start of the Route du Rhum. The last time was in 2018 when Bob Escoffier took the start of the Transatlantic. He had not gone beyond the Breton coast which he had had to abandon. Like Benjamin Hardouin in 2014, who had also been the victim of a waterway.


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