Captain J. Neofotistos shared fuel with Stéphane Le Diraison, skipper of the Compagnie du Lit-Boulogne Billancourt racing yacht, who was competing in the Vendee Globe round-the-world solo regatta. The dry-ship provided Le Diraison with 50 gallons of diesel fuel - enough to allow the Frenchman to reach Melbourne.
On December 17, Le Dirayson's yacht lost its mast. It happened about a thousand miles off the Australian coast. The skipper managed to put up a makeshift mast and a small sail, but the boat was difficult to keep on course without full armament.
The Vendee Globe participant contacted the Australian Coast Guard and arranged for the boat to be refuelled so that he could make it to shore on engine power. Le Diraison's yacht and a Captain J. Neofotistos lander met on Christmas Day; the lander's crew passed canisters of fuel aboard the yacht. The yachtsman arrived safely in Melbourne on Thursday this week.
Stephane Le Diraison is not the only Vendee Globe dropout. To date, 10 of the 29 participants in the circumnavigation have dropped out for various reasons. The main battle for the win was between Armel Le Cléac on Banque Populaire VIII and Alex Thomson on Hugo Boss. The latter damaged one of the side foils during a collision with an unidentified floating object.