Frédéric Le Peutrec, skipper of Gitana 11:
"The stormy depression arrived very fast, accompanied by seas which are sure to be quite rough, and in the Mediterranean, seas like that are very short and full of breaking waves, especially with the coastal plateau in front of Trapani. Already on Thursday with twenty knots, the sea was very tough going… It really is the sensible solution to stay in port, especially as the squalls are already starting to kick up (at 11:30, ed's note). With any yacht, you always have to avoid placing yourself in a dangerous situation. It's a basic sailing principle: you don't put yourself in coastal wind when there's strong squalls forecast! All the competitors and all the organisers are unequivocal on this point. In any case, Friday 2 June is the national holiday of the Italian Republic and everyone's out on the street: the boats are open to the public for four hours and it's great to have the Sicilians visit the trimarans, as they're really enthusiastic and friendly!"