Give Me Five Sailed a Race on a Damaged Mast and Still Finished Third

Give Me Five won the opening race of the second day at the Cape 31 Mediterranean Series finale in Hyères, then sailed the next race with a mast the forestay had cut into. The French team did not realise how serious the damage was and still crossed the line third.

The problem started at the end of Race 4. In a strong easterly breeze and steep seas on the Bay of Hyères, the forestay cut into the mast as Give Me Five finished their winning race. The crew went into Race 5 unaware of the extent of the damage and delivered another podium result.

“We had a rigging problem today. Our forestay cut the mast at the end of the first race, and we sailed the second race without realising how serious the damage was,” said owner Adrien Follin.

Once the team understood what had happened, Give Me Five did not start Race 6. They sit sixth overall on 28 points after six races.

The bigger concern is now the Cape 31 Gold Cup in Saint-Tropez next month. “We’ll do everything we can to repair it in time for the Gold Cup,” Follin said.

The same conditions caught out the regatta leaders. La Pericolosa retired from Race 4 after an incident at the first windward mark, then came back to take second in Race 5 and win Race 6. The team holds the overall lead on 14 points, seven clear of Django.

“Good and bad, both sides,” said La Pericolosa’s Fabian Gielen. “In the first race we had a crash at the first top mark and had to retire. Then we came back with a second and a first, so pretty good.”

Asked how the team has stayed so consistent in a 20-boat fleet, Gielen kept his answer short. “I think we have really good speed. We’re pretty quick, and then the rest is about keeping it simple. Speed is king.”

Django had the strongest day on the scoreboard. Vittorio Lombardi Stronati’s team posted a 6-1-2 across the three races to climb into second overall.

“We had around 20 knots today, which suited us a bit better, and it was a lot of fun,” said Lombardi Stronati. “We’re second overall now, but everyone is very close, so anything can happen tomorrow.”

Stig is third on 22 points, with Khumbu fourth and Stella Maris fifth. Nine points separate second through seventh

Lighter conditions are expected for the final day, with two races planned before the 2026 Cape 31 Mediterranean Series finale comes to a close.