Yann Elies during the evacuation. 20 December 2008.
Photo copyright Australian Navy

As you can see in this photo-reportage provided by the Australian Navy, Yann Elies, skipper of Generali, has been succesfully rescued by the Australian Navy frigate HMAS Arunta.

Read here how the french sailor fractured his left femur and broke several ribs.

This is the eveacuation in the words of RFDS medical director Stephen Langford:

"The thing that's different to this rescue compared to the rescues of Isabelle Autissier and Tony Bullimore is that they were effectively ... fully abled sailors who were being rescued from vessels that had broken. Whereas in this case you're actually trying to take someone off who is ... seriously injured and are unable to help clamber off the boat themselves and that made it all the more difficult. In those sorts of conditions, really cramped, the boat banging around and he was trying to put in an anesthetic block to block the nerves in the yachtsman's leg to take away some of the pain, and then put some IV fluids in and some other pain relief. They ... managed to splint his leg and get him in to a rescue stretcher and then had to transfer that stretcher across from the yacht to the inflatable boats with lines on each end. That's a difficult sort of thing."

HMAS Arunta and Generali. 20 December 2008.
Photo copyright Australian Navy


The evacuation's most critical moment


Yann Elies succesfully rescued


Yann Elies, his misadventure has come to an end

For updated info visit official site of the event at VendéeGlobe.org