Vendee Globe updates

[Guest]

Its interesting watching the vids and seeing how seemingly easily quite a good length of the bow section of the boats lift.

[Guest]

Beyou diverts to Cape Verde with Keel Problems

 

At 2300hrs (French time) on Saturday, Jérémie Beyou (Maître CoQ) detected a malfunction of the hydraulic jack of his keel. He has taken advantage of the proximity of Cape Verde for shelter in order to inspect in more detail the system that allows the keel to move.

 

When Beyou warned his crew shortly before midnight, he was 70 miles (130 km) from the Cape Verde archipelago and making five knots. He should have found shelter among the islands by midday on Sunday.

 

Meanwhile Zbigniew 'Gutek' Gutkowski (ENERGA) has heaved to, 500 west of the Canary Islands at the back of the fleet, waiting for the right moment to climb the mast and cutaway the gennaker wrapped around his forestay.

 

It is part of an ongoing struggle with his autopilot that has plagued him from the start. The 39-year-old Polish skipper came to a stop last night and was waiting for the wind to drop and swell to decrease, but his mission will be more perilous than Javier Sansó’s on Friday night, who was able to divert to Tenerife and find shelter in the lee of the island.

 

“The main thing is to get down the wrapped gennaker from the forestay,” Gutek said. “I have a sort of plan now how to do it but it’s not so easy. One way is to go up and then slide down cutting all into pieces, but these pieces could possibly hit the mast and I don’t want to lose the mast while actually being up on it. The better solution is to wait for the calm.”

 

“Cutting the halyard is not a solution, because all is well wrapped there. So now I am focused only on sorting out this problem, and after that I will think what next.”

Gutek said he has not felt in danger and has an exit strategy if it impossible to solve the problem.

 

“It puts me in no danger, as the wind is dropping. I can sail like this, but only downwind and down wave preferably. The trick is to have the gennaker ‘balloons’ hidden behind the mainsail to not risk breaking the forestay.”

 

“The closest (place to divert to) would be Madeira, Azores are also not so far away. But I would prefer Canaries, as there is the best infrastructure regarding transport and eventual repairs. I spent couple of months there and I know every marina, I could sail there without any map. But any decisions I will be taking after removing the sail from the forestay.”

 

 

Fleet news:

 

Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat) has lost his second place and dropped down to fourth as he continues to register significantly slower speeds than the rest of the front six in the last 12 hours. As they drag race down the same corridor 800 miles from the Equator in 14 knot north easterlies, Stamm was making just 13.9 knots in the last hour before the 0400hrs ranking, compared to Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec 3), the fastest in the fleet, at 18.8 knots.

Dick moved into third place, 13 miles behind Francois Gabart (Macif), who is 62.6 miles behind the leader Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire).

 

One of the beauties of the Vendée Globe is waking to find out how the skippers fared between the last ranking of the night at 2000hrs (French time) and the first of the morning at 0500hrs. The English are often laughed at for playing a sport – cricket – in which games last five days. But the Vendée Globe is a game of strategy that plays out over 80-100 days (and much longer for some).

 

The skippers hold their cards close to their chest but the data tells a story. Something is slowing Stamm and likewise seventh-placed Jérémie Beyou (Maître CoQ), who lost 70 miles on the leader in the last eight hours and is crawling along at just 10 knots as he drifts away from the front six. AT 0900hrs (French time) that was explained by the damage to the hydraulic jack of his kanting keel.

 

Beyou had fallen back to Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel) who leads Mike Golding (Gamesa) by just 0.6 of a mile. Le Cam and Golding have now joined the rest of the fleet in the same corridor of fair wind south after almost match-racing each other to the east for seven days.

 

Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) continues to impress in sixth, keeping pace with the leader overnight and biding his time just 123 miles behind. Thomson knows that the newer, lighter boats in front are faster in a drag race but is keeping in touch for when other qualities will be tested.

[Guest]

REPAIR REQUIRED

 

The 20-strong fleet that started the Vendée Globe has already been reduced to 16 and the trauma of this toughest of sailing races continued on the eighth day, with the news that Jérémie Beyou (Maître CoQ) had suffered a broken hydraulic jack in his keel. With a sudden clean break causing his boat to lurch his canting keel was left swinging loose beneath the boat. He immobilised it with ropes but was taking in water where the keel is attached to the boat and and is headed to Santo Vincente, Mindelo, in the Cape Verde islands, 40 miles away, at a speed of 5-6 knots. He should arrive on Sunday night.

 

“I heard a noise,” Beyou, who had been in seventh and was part of the lead group, said. “I had been sailing without a problem all day long, the boat was going at a speed of 21 knots, and suddenly I felt the direction change. The hydraulic jack is broken, it’s a very clean break, the attachment between the keel head and the jack is gone. The pumps are pumping the water out of the boat. The damaged parts are very sensitive ones, key ones. I turned downwind to limit the damage but water was coming in anyway. I need to find a quieter place to think about what to do. I can’t go faster than 5-6 knots so it should take me 6-7 hours to reach a calmer area off Cape Verde."

 

“I talked to Michel Desjoyeaux (Maître CoQ is the old Foncia in which Dejoyeaux won the last Vendée Globe), we’re flabbergasted to see a part like that could break. I need to lock the keel, to make sure it doesn’t move any more. If we manage to lock it in a right position, I’ll be back in the race.

 

“These parts are so important, there’s a 40-ton pressure on them. We have a lot of people working on it, I didn’t start the race to finish it in Cape Verde, if there’s a tiny little chance to go on, we’ll stay in the race.”

 

The break has surprised experts within and out of Beyou’s team because the jack is made of titanium and designed to bear weights up to 120 tons while, on Maître CoQ, the heaviest load is 40 tons. The problem for Beyou is that he will not want to go into the Southern Ocean with anything less than a rock solid plan to secure the keel. As it is not being able to swing it – angle it to allow the boat to remain upright and sail a more aggressive angle to the wind - will mean a great loss of speed.

 

“These ropes won’t hold forever, not when facing weights up to 40 tons every time the boat jolts,” Beyou said. “They will give me the possibility to reach a sheltered area, not to sail around the world. And every time the boat heels, there is water getting in the boat, as a joint has been damaged when the head of the hydraulic jack broke.”

 

Respect for the Southern Ocean is what is giving Zbigniew 'Gutek' Gutkowski (ENERGA), pause for thought despite a profitable morning unwrapping his gennaker sail from his J2 and forestay. At one point he was going to have to go up the mast and cut the gennaker away. Saturday night saw him heave to so he could do it in calmer conditions, but he was able to save the gennaker from the deck. However, the software problem in both his autopilots that caused the wipe out remains.

 

“I went on the bow at sunrise and after two hours hard work I managed to drop everything to the foredeck, so now I’ve got a clear mast without any problems and the gennaker is a little bit damaged but in one piece."

 

“I got some luck because I fixed everything from the deck. I am really confused because the autopilot will be in the same situation for the next few days and I don’t really want to fight with the autopilot all the way around the world. I can’t make a decision right now. I need to think. I haven’t slept well. Right now I’m completely stuck, there’s no wind, so I can take a pole and make some good fishing."

“Going into the Southern Ocean without an autopilot is a completely stupid idea.”

 

Gutek knows because he has already experienced sailing from Cape Town to Wellington in another race with a faulty autopilot.

 

“Believe me, I was really close to losing my life,” he said. “On my last trip around the world I was really close to making the decision to stopping at the Kerguelen Islands I was really desperate. I don’t want to be in the same situation.”

 

Fleet news:

 

Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) has had the best day in the fleet, consistently making the best speeds to close the gap in the leading group of six boats to 115 miles. Despite being the only older generation boat he has been gaining as they drag race south in the north-easterly trade winds and at the 1600hrs (French time) ranking had the fastest 24 hour speed again of 17.7 knots.

 

With Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) just 570 miles from the Equator, all the skippers thoughts are turning to The Doldrums or le Pot au noir, as the French call the area dreaded by all mariners. They will reach them in less than two days.

 

This Intertropical Convergence Zone, a kind of kind moveable

car park for boats, is a bit further north than usual, at 8-10 degrees north (latitude), so Le Cam’s record to the Equator in 2004 of 10 days 11h 28 min may be safe.

The further south the weaker the trade winds will get and squalls and thunderstorms are forecast.

 

“I have been able to hang onto the leading group which is excellent considering the speed advantage they should have,” Thomson said. “I had been pulling out on Maître CoQ, who has been my shadow quietly, but today we find out he has a keel problem. Very sorry for him, I hope he can get it fixed and continue.

 

“I wasn’t trying to be in a drag race with these boys. I’m just starting to look at the Doldrums in more detail now. We’re all heading in the same direction so I’ll have an idea of what’s going on from the guys in front of me.”

 

Ahead of him Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat) was back up to speed after a slow night and was the fastest, at 16.9 knots, in the last hour before the 1600hrs ranking.

 

The big winner on Sunday was the oldest man on the fleet, the 57-year-old Swiss sailor, Dominique Wavre (Mirabaud), who has moved up from tenth to seventh. Wavre, in his fourth Vendée Globe, slipped past his old friends and sparring partners; Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel) and Mike Golding (Gamesa), who have lost time as they joined from east. “It’s not easy to be fighting with friends,” Wavre said. Just three miles separated the group of three at the 1600hrs (French time) ranking. That group are 230 miles behind the lead group of six at the front.

[Guest]

If Alex Thomson ever retires from sailing he might be able to open a mechanic’s workshop after unveiling the result of seven hours handiwork with his grinder.

 

Thomson, who was still in sixth place last night, keeping pace with the lead group and 123 miles from Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) at the front, suffered the scare on Saturday.

 

“I was low on battery juice so I popped the hydro down and went below to see how many amps were going in. At the time I was averaging about 18 knots and I heard a strange noise so went to the door and I could see the hydro (generator) vibrating very severely and getting worse. I realised it was going to break and rushed to pull it up but before I got there it ripped off the back of the boat and did a cartwheel and smashed the starboard tie bar. I was on port tack so the starboard rudder was not connected to anything and I knew instantly that the boat would wipe out. It did, but I managed to get the boat flat and got downwind to roll up the A3 spinnaker keeping the port rudder in the water doing all the steering.”

 

That’s when the real work started. Between 12 and 12.30pm on Saturday, Hugo Boss was almost stationary as Thomson cannibalised his port rudder bar and started sailing again.

“The bar is a very thin carbon tube about 3m long which was broken in two places, and we do not carry a spare unfortunately,” Thomson said. “Cliff (Nicholson) our composite engineer is a genius problem solver and he came up with a plan with Ross (Daniel) and (Simon) Clarkey which would splint the breaks using carbon strips. I firstly had to cut the strips with the grinder with a diamond cutting blade I have onboard. I was not looking forward to doing it because literally everything would be covered in carbon dust. I cleared the cockpit and got to work all while averaging 19 knots of boat speed. I managed to do it without cutting a finger off or cutting through the cockpit floor. Once I had finished I was covered in silver paint and back carbon dust and the cockpit looked like Cliff’s workshop. The repair sure ain’t pretty but it should be functional and was about seven hours work all in plus some tidy up time. I was pretty knackered but pleased. It has been an amazing team effort.”

 

There might have been reason to feel jinxed as this Hugo Boss is Seb Josse’s old boat from the last Vendée Globe and Josse was forced to retire to New Zealand in the last race after nearly capsizing and damaging his port rudder.

The fix certainly seemed to work as Thomson, previously better known for his speed than his handiwork, had the best 24 hour speed times in the fleet on Sunday, beating the five new boats in front of them. Thomson can now focus on navigating a path through the Doldrums which are further north than usual. The lead boat should reach them in the next 24 hours.

 

After securing his keel yesterday Jérémie Beyou (Maître CoQ) reached the coast of Santo Antaö, the most northerly of the Cape Verde islands last night and was still circling (well, closer to parallelograms) this morning. His destination was Mindelo harbour on the Sao Vincente, 20 miles away, which will take him two and a half hours at his current speed. He may be waiting for his team to arrive, most likely on the island of Sal, so he can better communicate with them and see if there is anyway he can find a permanent way to secure his canting keel and continue. But with the Southern Ocean looming he will need solution he can trust and without being able to swing his keel he will be much slower than the rest of the fleet.

 

Meanwhile, at the back of the fleet, Zbigniew 'Gutek' Gutkowski (ENERGA) had doubled back on himself last night as he faces the ongoing struggle with his autopilot. His was making 6-7 knots since last night, but in the direction of Madeira, 400 miles west. It is possible the 39-year-old Polish skipper is just testing his autopilot. He believes it is a software problem. Race rules permit him to download a software patch or new software.

 

Fleet news:

 

With the Equator 450 miles away and the Doldrums half that, the lead skippers will all be working on their weather charts. Everyone will be watching Armel Le Cléac’h, (Banque Populaire), the leader by 51 miles from Francois Gabart (Macif), to see which way he goes. This will be the first big test of the sailors routing skills. Normally the axiom is ‘west is best’, but getting there is sometimes another matter, with deathly wind holes waiting. The wind is gradually dropping already and Le Cléac’h will have the last of the 12 knot northeast trade winds this morning before it drops off to 8 knots and veers east.

 

Mike Golding (Gamesa) was the only mover in the fleet yesterday as he edged the three horse race behind the leading group. Golding, the furthest west of the three, passed his old friends and sparring partners Dominique Wavre (Mirabaud) and Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel), but they are still separated by just five miles.

[Guest]

Jérémie Beyou retires from the race

 

 

 

The Maître CoQ skipper has reached Cape Verde islands, where he was able to analyse his situation. Along with his shore crew, Jérémie has considered every possible solution allowing him to stay in the race. But none of them guaranteed Jérémie's safety without help from the outside. Because the Vendée Globe rules forbid skippers to receive any assistance, Jérémie was forced to officially announce he was retiring from the race.

 

 

 

This is obviously a tough blow for the French sailor, who had started this Vendée Globe with a craving for adventure and a strong determination to do well. When that incident forced Beyou to divert to Cape Verde, the French skipper was 6th in the race, and first among the 2008-2009 boats. His honesty and energy will be missed.

[Guest]

Jérémie Beyou (Maître CoQ) became the fifth skipper to abandon the 2012-13 Vendée Globe yesterday after he was unable to find a safe solution to secure his broken canting keel. Beyou has arrived safely Mindelo harbour in Sao Vincente, one of the Cape Verde islands, where he had diverted on Saturday night to find shelter.

 

“The situation is clear, the way the keel head is tied right now will resist the tide and has allowed me to go find a shelter,” Beyou said. “But it won’t be enough to stand all the pressure and weight throughout the race around the world. I’ve started the engine. The race is over.”

 

“There’s so much frustration and disappointment, for myself and people who trusted me, especially Stéphane (Maître CoQ chief executive, Stéphane Sallé) and the Maître CoQ staff. I’m angry too, there are so many things than can make such parts of the boat more fragile. We’ll need to dive under the boat to see what happened exactly. It’s too early to say. The breakage definitely made me nervous, I was laughing hysterically, then I got really mad but remained focused on repairing. I couldn’t sleep, no way. Eventually, I was so exhausted that I fell asleep last night. We’ll go to the port, dismantle and remove the hydraulic jack which will be studied and analysed.”

 

See the video of Beyou’s break here

 

It is the second time he has been forced to retire from the Vendée Globe, having abandoned his previous attempt after 16 days in the last edition in 2008-09 with serious mast damage.

 

Beyou, skippering the old Foncia boat that won the last Vendée Globe, suffered a broken hydraulic jack in his keel on Saturday night. He was in seventh place at the time and part of the leading group and had enjoyed a keen battle with Alex Thomson.

 

The 36-year-old skipper is one of the most talented skippers in France and was contender to win this year. He underlined his credentials by winning the Solitaire de Figaro in 2011, joining an exclusive of club of those to have won the event twice.

 

The grief of the skippers who have departed the race is clear. Four years of hopes and dreams – eight in the case of Beyou and Kito de Pavant (Groupe Bel) – has been clear. Like Olympians, this is their moment and it brings to mind the images such as Britain’s Phillips Idowu at the London 2012 Olympics Games or Liu Xiang, the Chinese Olympic hurdler pulling up injured in the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

 

Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss), who had just saved his own hopes and underlined the importance of a good team to the skippers by fixing his broken rudder, said he knew how Beyou feels.

 

“That is very sad I did suspect that might be the case when I found out that his keel (jack) had broken,” Thomson said. “I feel very sorry for Jérémie, it’s his second Vendée and second time retiring, I know how it feels.” Thomson was forced to retire from the last two Vendée Globes.

 

“It’s not only your dreams you take people with you. There is so much work and commitment that goes into it not just by him, but by his family, his friends, his team, his sponsors. Jérémie is going to be feeling absolutely gutted for all of them. It’s a tough race this one, the same with Sam Davies and all the guys who’ve had to retire like Kito (de Pavant), it’s a very sad day when it happens.”

 

 

Thomson revealed that he still has some more repairs to make to fix his starboard hydrogenerator that had ripped off and broken the tie bar that connects to the starboard rudder.

 

 

“The repair seems to be fine, we still have to repair the hydrogenerator bracket,” he said. “I might make start on that today if I can make some progress thought the Doldrums.”

 

See the video of Thomson’s repair job.

 

Fleet news:

 

The top six boats have entered the Doldrums and from making over 15 knots 24 hours ago, the leader, Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire), was down to 1.8 knots in the hour before the 1600hrs (French time) ranking. Le Cléac’h had really been enjoying the trade winds too, as he showed in this video.

 

The Intertropical Convergence Zone, known better as The Doldrums or le Pot au noir, as the French say, will be the first test of the skippers routing skills. The compression in the fleet has been immediate with from Francois Gabart (Macif), closing to 26.8 miles and Thomson in sixth winning back 50 miles in sixth, 62.4 miles behind. But it is the time that it will take to get south-west rather than miles that count now. The first through to the trade winds on the other size will pull away quickly.

 

 

The Doldrums are a lottery with conditions changing by the hour as the skippers try and jump from cloud to cloud. But the thunderstorms, that are to be avoided at all costs and can appear as quickly as they disappear, greeted Le Cléac’h as he arrived in the zone this morning.

 

 

The Doldrums had looked less active the day before but that could be the nightmare scenario as it might mean the leaders face the beginning of a cycle. But it remains guesswork for meteorologists and the boats could emerge on Tuesday morning.

 

 

270 miles back in the trade winds, Mike Golding (Gamesa), in seventh, found more pressure in the west of the chasing group of three and took a slight lead over Dominique Wavre (Mirabaud) and Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel).

 

 

Golding said that despite his good start he has had no time to practice the Gangnam Style dance that his nine-year-old son, Soren, taught him before he left.

 

 

“Ah, well, yes (laughs) dance steps might be overstating it a bit,” he said. “There’s not a great deal of opportunity to practice Gangnam Style on the boat right now, we’re a bit busy. But I did manage to earn him (Soren) 25 Euros by doing it on the canal on the way out.

 

 

 

Quotes of the boats

 

I’d say I’m in the Doldrums, I currently have about four knots of wind and I think out here to the west is a good place to be. But to some extent it’s a bit of a lottery because it can change so quickly. The priority now is to try and get south, clear of the Doldrums and into the tradewinds.

 

Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss), GBR

 

 

Everything’s fine for me on board, I cleaned up the boat a little bit, the conditions make it possible. I did my laundry too. I had never slept as well as last night. I have bad memories of the Doldrums, especially on multihull. But I think it’s less dangerous on a monohull. I’m glad to still be on the race, especially when I see what’s going on for other skippers. I’m in the middle of an international group with a Swiss and a Brit. Go France!!! I don’t want to say too much about that strategy we worked on, the three of us (he laughs). Now, let’s be frank, one thing is for sure, I don’t have any strategy going on with Mike Golding, we can’t agree on anything (he laughs). With the two guys I have around me, I know I’ll never get bored! I’m thinking of a Swiss-French alliance against England.

 

Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel)

 

 

(asked about and Jean Le Cam’s proposal of a Swiss-French alliance with Dominique Wavre against the English): "Good luck with that!” Golding said. “We are 100% focused on the Doldrums strategy because it is all about where we are going to enter the Doldrums and each evolution of the model gives a slightly different outcome, we only have a limited amount of time, very limited now, to adjust our course to hit in the optimum place. Right now the Doldrums are front and centre of our minds and not the boats around us. The reality is that it is possible (editors note: to close the gap), but it is not looking great for the Doldrums, but we'll see. We have one file one day, each evolution of the file shows a different outcome. Sometimes I run their routes and we make a little catch up and other times we don't. It is changing because the doldrums are so dynamic, it changes literally from hour to hour.

 

Mike Golding (Gamesa), GBR

 

 

 

I’m in trade winds, 12 knots of east wind, I’m sailing south with my gennaker. I use binoculars to check the top of the mast or other parts of the boat, especially after the tough winds Sam and I faced when she dismasted. I received many messages today (it is his birthday), more than usual.

 

Tanguy de Lamotte (Initiatives-coeur)

 

 

No more swimsuit for me, but a lot of rain and clouds instead. Big thunderstorms, too, and strong winds. I’m manoeuvering a lot. The satellite data said the sea was going to be calmer but it’s not, it’s rougher than expected. The heavy rain is a good opportunity to take a shower!

 

Armel Le Cléac"h (Banque Populaire)

 

 

 

I’m right next to Jean-Pierre Dick, we had a bath on our respective decks (laughs), and now there’s no wind. I’m keeping an eye on Jean-Pierre, I think we’re both trying to find an opportunity to sail away. There is no real strategy involved at this point, we just need to go south and hopefully, we'll have some luck. We know the doldrums will help some boats go up in the rankings and others will go down.

 

François Gabart (Macif)

[Guest]

At the back of the fleet, Zbigniew 'Gutek' Gutkowski (ENERGA) partially revealed the reason for his strange heading – he is testing a new solution to his autopilot nightmare. Since releasing his gennaker, the 39-year-old Polish skipper, has been heading due east and is 1607.9 miles from the top of the fleet.

Last night he told his team that he is heading in the direction of the Canary Islands (280 miles away) but not to stop and only because this is the “best option regarding the weather situation.” His team have sent a solution to the software problem with his autopilots.

 

"I got out from the no-wind zone (last night) sailing 15-17 knots with a south-west breeze,” Gutek said. “In the morning (Tuesday) we'll get cold front with rain and squalls up to 30 knots. And after that on this front a new low will be born, giving more wind.

 

“So, now I am driving east to be able to sail south-east afterwards without a fight with strong wind straight on my nose."

 

Fleet news:

 

Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) has been the big winner from the Doldrums so far, making up 80 miles on those in front since yesterday afternoon and moving into third place. But if the top six all looked to be through the Doldrums this morning then there was a small reminder of the lottery of the wind in this feared equatorial zone at the 0900hrs (French time) ranking.

Vincent Riou (PRB), who had moved up two places into third overnight, was totally becalmed, making 0.0 knots in the last hour. Riou had turned and was heading north-west, almost in the opposite direction to the race course, in a desperate attempt to get out of the hole.

 

Armel Le Cléac’h, (Banque Populaire), does look to be through and has an opportunity now to open a gap. He has been averaging more than nine knots since last night and appears to have left behind the shifty six knots easterlies for 12 knot south-easterlies, but it is still unstable. The race to catch the first low-pressure weather system south into the Roaring 40s.

Le Cléac’h seems to have had a calmer night than those behind him, carving directly south-south-west, while other five have bobbed and weaved.

 

The Doldrums have compressed and shuffled the deck behind him. Just 10 miles separates the five chasing him.

Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec 3) had moved into second place last night, past Francois Gabart (Macif). But the 29-year-old Gabart, the youngest skipper left in the fleet, re-took second but has made just 1.7knots in the last hour. Dick had slipped back to sixth behind Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat).

 

Vincent Riou (PRB), the 2004 winnner, has been another winner in the Doldrums, as he clawied back miles but now he will need all his skill. Having caught up, the ‘accordion effect’ of the Doldrums should not affect them now, but bad or unlucky routing will.

[Guest]

Press Release

November 20, 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

The British Are Coming

 

 

 

News Flash:

 

Alex Thomson and Mike Golding profit from the Doldrums

 

““I have never experienced a Doldrums like that before” - Vincent Riou.

 

Gutek is not going to Morocco

 

 

 

Fleet News:

 

Bertrand de Broc logs best last 24 hours

 

Sam Davies on taking the slow boat home

 

 

 

News Flash:

 

Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) and Mike Golding (Gamesa) have been two of the big winners in the Doldrums. Thomson was down to sixth at the 1600hrs (French time) ranking, having been up to third this morning, but just 2.3 miles separate the five boats chasing the leader, Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire). Thomson made up 80 miles as the fleet compressed and has been able to bank that.

 

The chasing five have been breathing the same stale air for the last 18 hours and almost eyeballing each other they have been so close - they have all been rinsed, literally and figuratively. There was little time for sleep as they had to take care not to get caught out by sudden wind changes and squalls. But the surprise is Le Cleac’h has not got away from them and still only leads by 26.6 miles from Vincent Riou (PRB) in second. Le Cléac’h did look to have an easier night by comparison though as he drove directly south-west.

 

Boiling one minute, drenched by a thunderstorm the next and then utterly becalmed in the inky black night, it has been a testing period. “I have never experienced a Doldrums like that before,” Riou, the 2004 winner and competing in his third consecutive Vendée Globe, said. At one point in the morning he was totally becalmed.

 

The five chasing boats have bobbed and weaved constantly and although it is unstable, Thomson is convinced he is out of the worst - and he looks to be right.

“It was a really tough night last night and I haven’t been able to get any sleep,” Thomson said. “It was like one constant squall. It was monsoon rain for 7 hours straight. I had practically no wind at all, so I have been steering by hand the entire time.

 

“I think I am out of the Doldrums, but every time I go through the Doldrums I always think to myself: ‘now Alex, you know, whenever you think you’re out, it means that you’re not’. I get my dry clothes out and then bang, it starts all over again.

 

“But I do think I am now out. I am sailing upwind. I am completely exhausted but I can’t get any sleep just yet. I have the boats all around me and I can see them, so I want to stay awake at the moment.”

 

Golding, in seventh, has closed 120 miles while those in front have struggled and has entered the Doldrums further west, usually a more favourable angle because they are historically narrower there. Yesterday afternoon, he is still making 12 knots, 141 miles behind the leader, with old sparring partners Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel) Dominique Wavre (Mirabaud) hot on his tail still.

“Now I am just waiting to see if I stop,” Golding said on Tuesday morning. “At the moment there is a lot of lightning and rain and some big nasty clouds around. But so far, so good. It would be nice if we can keep some of these miles we have gained. It would be nice if we could keep all of them.

“It is a very dynamic area. The model I am looking at now is probably old now but then I have committed to my strategy and if I suddenly need to be sideways 50 miles I cannot just do that. But I am not too worried.”

“The big (clouds) ones can bring wind ahead of them and then nothing in their wake, and that calm can last for hours. They track with the gradient wind and so you generally try to avoid the biggest ones, but if one is coming at you and has your name on it you cannot avoid it.

"So now I am looking for some steady upwind in a SE’ly wind which would signify we are starting to get out, but you don’t hold your breath.”

Meanwhile, at the back of the fleet and heading east, 1656 miles behind, Zbigniew 'Gutek' Gutkowski (ENERGA), has still not been able to re-join the race. The software problem in both his autopilots that caused the wipe out remains. But although the tough Polish skipper is losing miles he showed he hasn’t lost his sense of humour. “I’m going in the direction of Morocco I think right now,” he said. “But I’m not going to Morocco (laughs).”

He is testing the autopilots after instructions from B&G, the makers, but has not found the fault. “Two days ago I received a long email from B&G office (who make his autopilot) with a list to do,” he said. “I am trying everything but the new set up on the B&G autopilot - nothing has changed to be honest. I need a little bit more wind to check everything. This morning was gusty conditions, so I went downwind with 20 knots of boat speed but it was exactly the same situation - the autopilot was not giving exactly what I was putting as the heading for the boat.”

 

“I’m going with the wind right now, I cannot go south directly because there’s a big high pressure hole directly below me with no wind. I can’t check things with no wind so I’m going with the wind, that’s the plan.

 

 

 

Fleet news:

Bertrand de Broc (Your Name Around the World with Projects EDM) enjoyed the best 24-hour run at the 1600hrs ranking, with 314 miles and has made a sterling comeback after leaving late when a collision with rigid inflatable support bad left a small hole in his hull. De Broc is in 11th place, 501 miles behind the leader.

 

Sam Davies (Savéol) one of the five skippers forced to abandon, from the twenty who started, has decided to deliver her wounded boat home under jury rig from Madeira and spoke movingly about her sense of loss and why the slow boat home is better. They will stop at Cascais in Portugal, 300 miles away before heading back to France when the forecast improves.

 

“I was just dreading that Xavier (David), my team manager, was going to tell me I had to get on a plane home and go and see everybody,” Davies said. “I think he realised that there was no way that I could do that and that it was better for me to stay here.” Read the full interview here.

 

Quotes of the boats

 

 

The Doldrums are behind me, the sky is clear this morning. We took the opportunity to rest a little after a rather complicated 24 hours. Behind, they are grouped in the Doldrums and I took the opportunity to increase the gap between them and me. It's the charm and the difficulty of the Doldrums; you don’t know how you are going to be eaten. We have suffered but behind it seems to have gone pretty well for those chasing. We will count the points tomorrow when they will be out and see the impact of the Doldrums in terms of ranking and the gap between the boats. For now the road to go to the first ice gate is not very fast. We'll see how it will evolve; the conditions are quite normal at this time of year.

 

Armel Le Cléac'h (FRA, Banque Populaire)

 

“

I’m beginning to see the end of the tunnel, for an hour, the wind is established and I am close to something that seems to be early trade winds. I had never experienced a Doldrums like that before. Last night was awful with squalls in all directions and incredible rainfall. It was tiring to manage. Things are beginning to be in place and soon time rest will come. Yesterday I sailed for a long time edge-to-edge with Alex Thomson and I see others from this morning on the AIS. I have not had much time to scan the horizon and look for them. We had very changeable conditions; we did not have five minutes with the same setting on the same sailing and tack. It was very agitated.”

 

Vincent Riou (FRA, PRB)

 

“

This is great but I would like to be a little more in the race. But the road is still long. Since my slightly delayed departure from Les Sables d’Olonne, I have not taken the same route (as the others) but I had a little taste of the Roaring Forties and Fifties (in the conditions he has had). There are still 80 days of navigation, so I have time to be back in the game. I feel that the Doldrums is quite happy of seeing me coming; in any case a little more than the leaders.”

 

Bertrand de Broc (FRA, Votre Nom autour du Monde avec EDM Projects)

 

 

“

Since yesterday evening, Jean Le Cam, Mike Golding and I have passed through a huge storm with a lot of rain and wind which have forced us to go upwind. But what is good is that we have almost never been stopped. The sky is completely dark. The sea is gray, like the English Channel, but it is mostly very messy. The wind rises and falls without warning, we do not see much on the water so you have to be vigilant. French speaking people will perhaps have to fight against the English (laughs). We make a nice little trio, so it will be a nice little fight, it's very motivating. I am already suffering the Doldrums. The wind went from 8 knots to 20 knots in a minute. Suffering is one thing, but as it is windy I'm not complaining too much. We are entering the Doldrums when others are leaving it. The gaps might become bigger.”

 

Dominique Wavre (SUI, Mirabaud)

 

“

 

It's very, very hard with squalls up to 35 knots. We are in a group of five boats with an incredible fight, it's unbelievable. I was with François Gabart, there were a series of gybes to try to touch the wind. I hope we will soon get out of the Doldrums because we cannot say it was nice to us. What a horror. I am surprised that nobody had a problem; the fellows in the lead are all very sharp. Everyone fights, it's a great fight. In tough seas like this, seeing boats fighting, it’s really beautiful.

Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA, Virbac Paprec 3)

[banaari 27]

I have now seen it all. Photo of Samantha Davies' jury rig include a Laser sail

[Guest]

News Flash:

 

The news broke this morning that Vincent Riou, onboard his boat PRB, has retired from the race. Two days ago he collided with a large floating metal buoy and damaged his hull. After 48hrs of assessing whether a repair was possible, this morning, he reluctantly decided to retire from the race. He is the 7th boat to retire in the race in 15 days and there are now 13 boats remaining. It’s a shocking blow for Riou, who won the Vendée Globe in 2004.

 

Following the collision, Riou discovered that PRB had a 1m tear and significant delamination, three metres from the bow, the front of the boat, and later found there was damage to his carbon outrigger.

 

On Vendée Globe TV Live legendary Race Director, Denis Horeau explained the gravity of the situation. “The outrigger shroud is made of fibres, it is designed to resist 35-ton pressure. When he realizes that 50% of the fibres are damaged, Vincent Riou knows the boat won’t be reliable and is, therefore, unsafe. Riou is a great technician, he knows that.”

 

An emotional Riou said, “I thought really hard before making the decision, I wanted to make sure there was no other possibility for me to be able to continue in the race. But at one point you have to be resigned, I just couldn’t continue with a boat in that state. No matter how much energy you spend, it’s just not possible sometimes.

 

Yesterday, all day long, I was more optimistic because I hadn’t realized the outrigger shroud was damaged. It didn’t look that bad. But then I looked closer and saw the fibres were also damaged inside. Even though I had fixed the hull problem, the shroud was too much of a problem. So I finished fixing the hull, but I knew it was to sail to Brazil, not to continue the race.

 

The closest port is Salvador de Bahia, I know that place so I’m familiar with the pontoons. I know I’ll be able to find a dock to repair the outrigger. Because apart from that, PRB is perfectly fine so I’ll be able to sail back.

 

That’s what’s tough in a sailor’s life: Things are not always fate; but you must accept it, and live with it, otherwise it’s unbearable. But we have worked so hard and so I have to learn to live with it. Jean Le Cam called me last night.”

 

In his own press statement he talked of his remorse, “Even though there was nothing I could do to avoid the collision and the damage that resulted, I cannot help but feel guilty. I felt really good in the race. These boats have awesome potential and I know that the race in the South this year will take another turn. The bar is very high and I would have loved to be part of it. This game, I really wanted to participate in."

 

This is the voice of broken dreams that have been unfairly snatched away. Riou’s retirement is not down to anything other than pure bad luck and very unlikely odds. It is the hidden dangers of the ocean that create the unforeseeable problems and the old adage rings true that in order to finish first, first you must finish.

 

Fleet news:

Armel Le Cléac’h continues to fashion the lead of the race. Today, Vendée Globe TV broadcast a video of him cruising along in shorts, a t-shirt sporting a pair of bright orange crocs. Le Cléac’h is quite the trendsetter and sales of bright orange crocs may well expect see a surge.

 

Gabart (MACIF) was also enjoying the clement, balmy conditions of the South Atlantic. He said, “I’m wearing my swimsuit, no top and barefoot. Very warm weather. I don’t know what happened to JP Dick, he surprised me, maybe my settings weren’t perfect. He just left me behind! But now I’m at 17 knots, I think I caught the wind he had caught before.” Clearly, this Jean-Pierre jolt was enough to spur the ‘goldenboy’ Gabart into gear and he grabbed back his second place position.

 

Alex Thomson on Hugo Boss has rocked into 4th place today. He is enjoying some downtime and being able to read messages from the supporters after a few days of intense DIY SOS. Thomson explained LIVE today on Vendée Globe TV what a morale boost it was to know that people are following the race, saying, “you sometimes feel quite removed from it all and so to know that 100,000s of people are watching you every move is very motivating.”

 

The buoyant Di Benedetto continues his enthusiastic track towards the Equator. Gathering rainwater from the squalls he has been experiencing the skipper, who is growing salad onboard, enjoyed a freshwater wash. He said today in a recorded interview for Vendée Gobe TV “There’s not much wind, but heavy rain, so I was able to collect water and take a shower. When I cross the Equator, I’ll share some of my good rum with Neptune. I’ll have some too! I won’t drink too much, though, because it’s such a small bottle!” It will take more than some rain to dampen this adventurers spirits, although he might use some to dilute his rum spirits when he toasts Neptune in the next few days.

 

There is a lot of empathy for remorseful Riou amongst our intrepid skippers many who know first hand about the agony of retirement.

[Guest]

Fleet News

The front guns are slowing as they negotiate a light passage between the Saint Helena high and a depression forming off Argentina. The fleet this morning crossed the symbolic 20,000 miles theoretical distance to finish (DTF Distance To Finish), Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire), the most easterly of boats slowed down to a crawling 10 knots. Golden boy, Gabart (MACIF) is riding alongside with only 44 miles separation, but still hitting 12 knots, he will also feel the effect of the slowdown as the wind spins to the east northeast and will gradually decline.

 

Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec 3), who galloped two places into second yesterday, has lost some ground this morning. He’s gambling that a shift in the west could allow him to get better winds for longer to close the gap.

Behind, Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) clings on to his newly gained 4th place, which he stole from Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat) yesterday. Stamm is picking up speed and clearly wants it back. The fast-talking Brit hunting Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel) travelled 374.4 miles in last 24 hours, at an average of 15.6 knots. He is by far the fastest of the fleet, although still behind Mike Golding (Gamesa), 16 miles astern. He too has entered the westerly gambling saloon and he is banking that a strong shift in the west will allow him, like Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec 3), to benefit from the greater pressure and continue his attack. Dominique Wavre (Mirabaud) still showed good averages (over 300 miles over 24 hours). Vincent Riou (PRB) this morning was 300 miles east of Salvador de Bahia lolloping limply and forlornly back to port.

 

Picking up speed at the back

A little more than 700 miles behind the leader, Javier Sanso (Acciona 100% EcoPowered) sped south almost reaching a 13 knots average over 24 hours, flying along in his Owen Clarke-generation (launched in late 2011) Open 60 steed. Less than 70 miles behind, and enjoying having the doldrums in his rear view mirror, Tanguy de Lamotte (Initiatives cœur) hung onto to his unexpected to 10th position.

 

Lamotte, however, will have to work hard to keep Arnaud Bossières (Akena Verandas) at bay. The local boy from Les Sables D’olonne sailing onboard Vincent Riou's ‘chewing gum’ PRB, regained some speed this morning and posted the best group average amongst his pack at the back (312.5 miles in 24 hours). His is just ahead of Bertrand de Broc (Votre Nom Autour du Monde with EDM), who is finally trucking along after a diabolical Doldrums crossing, covering almost 300 miles travelled in the past 24 hours, although he is still a hundred miles behind Arnaud Bossières (Akena Verandas). In the North Atlantic, Alessandro Di Benedetto (Team Plastique) should cross the Equator by lunchtime. Far east, he is making his way westward to avoid getting caught in the calm of the Saint Helena high but is looking forward to raising his glass of rum and toasting the God of the sea.

[Guest]

Breaking News:

 

In the North Atlantic, Alessandro Di Benedetto (Team Plastique) crossed the Equator this morning at 0807 GMT.

 

"Here it is hot everywhere! I just take good wind finally. Today I did a ceremony for the passage of Ecuador and I gave a little rum offered by Didier Elin Neptune and the boat with rice and salt (Japanese style). Well, here I am focused on the settings of the boat and the weather, the passage of the anticyclone it will not be easy! The boat sails well with jib and mainsail in 12 knots.” Said the happy skipper. Alessandro Di Benedetto (Team Plastique) is the last, but not least, of the remaining 13 boats to enter the southern hemisphere.

 

Safety first

 

Growlers are patches of ice drifting icebergs that break off and float semi submerged. They are a greater risk to skippers than the ice giants, icebergs. Often undetectable by radar they emerge from the surface of the water and in rough seas can be easily confused with the waves. To protect the skippers from playing a lethal game of Russian roulette, the race organization has implemented, chokepoints, called "ice gates" to limit the temptations to take the shortest, most southerly ice riddled route. These gates are monitored closely, and are subject to change according to tracked ice movements. The first South Atlantic gate has been shifted 1 degree north and 7 degrees east to avoid excessive concentrations of ice. The competition is fierce enough without adding unnecessary danger.

 

Fleet News

 

In approximately three days time the front-runners will enter the Roaring Forties, strong westerly winds found in the Southern Hemisphere, in the region of the latitudes of 40 and 50 degrees. The strong west-to-east air currents are generated by air being displaced from the Equator towards the South Pole and the Earth's rotation, with few landmasses to serve as windbreaks.

 

The journey into the roaring forties will be tricky, the weather models are predicting a high pressure on the edge Saint Helena high and a depression forming off the coast of Argentina. The skippers will have to negotiate a careful course to ensure they are not over, or underpowered in these fickle conditions.

 

Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel) and Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec 3) have elected for a more southerly course, which has positioned them to the west of the competing boats. On Vendée Globe LIVE today Mike Golding (Gamesa) discussed the situation, “It’s not that they are going more west but more that they are trying to get south and of course, you have to weigh that up against what you have to do along the course. It doesn’t look too bad. I ran the routing this morning and it looks like it’s moving quite nicely but I need to have a closer look at it. It looks fairly straight forward as we head to the first gate.” Golding was in great spirits and in response to not let himself be hunted by Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel) he jokingly said, “ I won’t. I am a one man war machine.”

 

Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) said, “The conditions keep changing, the night hasn’t been easy, I was shaken a lot and not really fast. But there’s still a long way to go, and finding the right route in the next few days will be very important for the rest of the race. There are a lot of possible strategies for the skippers behind us and I’m keeping an eye on what everybody is doing. The gaps between us aren’t too big, considering how long the race is. The next few days will be complicated for us all, we need to stay safe too.”

 

Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat) has work to do but is taking a few days off so that he doesn’t lose any boat speed. His priority is to stay with the leading pack. “My speed is back up now but last night was tough because the heavy rain absorbed the wind. I don’t want to waste too much time working on the boat right now, because the others in the group could leave me behind if I did. I need to focus on sailing fast right now, nothing else. I’ll wait until the conditions are favourable to climb up the mast and finish my work. The weather is really nice between showers, I feel like I’m on vacation, but it’s not good for my speed.”

 

Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) continues to keep ahead of Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat). They have a definite advantage and can watch to see how the front three extricate themselves from the calm of the ridge. Further back still, Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel), credited with the best speed for 24 hours, he has elected to follow a route away from the wind and focus on the speed of the course, hoping to reap the benefits of this decision during the predicted rotation of the wind. At a time when the weather files are becoming increasingly precise, hitting the right strategy relies increasingly on the shifts in a critical few miles. Nobody would now want to venture across the St. Helena anticyclone and end up becalmed in a windless car park.

 

Everything’s fine, we’ve been doing great for a couple of days, and I feel great mentally. Monday mornings aren’t fun when you have to go to work but my work is different, I’m loving it and the boat is so fast, it makes me really happy. These are such exciting conditions, I just can’t complain… The Doldrums were terrible for me, I just couldn’t move. So I’m enjoying the current situation even more, I can give all I have now, I didn’t get the opportunity to do it earlier in the race.

 

Arnaud Bossières (Akena Verandas)

 

I’ve already started to get closer to the skippers in front of me, the gap between me and Mike Golding is smaller and smaller, I’m getting there. Now I need to pass him. Right now I’m a little faster than the boats in front of me so if they get stuck in the ridge, it’ going to be good for me. But I don’t want to think about that too much, let’s not be too ambitious.

 

Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel)

[Guest]

Jean-Pierre Dick’s (Virbac Paprec 3) loss is Alex Thomson’s (Hugo Boss) gain. Dick’s decision to dip south away from the theoretical and shortest route, gambling that he will gain miles on the winds gradually shifting to the west in order to propel him to the Cape of Good Hope has meant that Thomson has slipped into third place. However, 33 miles behind is Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat) breathing down his neck.

 

Last night was very complicated for François Gabart (MACIF) he is now than 150 miles behind the Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire), who is still leading the charge. In the fickle winds in the southern hemisphere, the front runners navigate through the a compressing depression off the coast of Argentina.

 

François Gabart (MACIF) was busy on onboard with many manoeuvres and constant adjustments in attempt to eradicate the calm of the night. The more easterly, Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire), was obviously much luckier. He is sailing on a trajectory very close to the theoretical direct route (the famous great circle – the shortest route around the globe), he travelled 127 miles since the last ranking (at 2000 UTC) last night.

 

Behind the leading pack is the senior sailors of the fleet (Golding, Le Cam, Wavre) who remain locked in a ménage a trois. The once speedy gains of the talking Brit hunting comedic Frenchman Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel) seems to be very slow this morning as he approaches the ridge of the Argentinian depression, and is now further south than Mike Golding (Gamesa) and gambling alongside Jean-Pierre Dick’s (Virbac Paprec 3) that this will pay out in the longterm. Dominique Wavre (Mirabaud) 117.7 miles behind, also, appears to have elected to take the more southerly path.

 

Glorious conditions at the back

 

At nearly 800 miles from the leader, the group led by the late Javier Sanso (Acciona 100% EcoPowered) is enjoying the 15 knot easterly winds reaching for 300 miles in ambient conditions.

 

"The perfect night! After an impeccable sunset the cloud colour was extra-ordinary. The night is lifted and the moon shines bright almost full and illuminates the bridge almost like daylight! The sea is calm, the boat glides effortlessly at 11 knots and it is good I ate outside leaning against the fleet 500 to watch the clouds over the moon, what happiness! I'll sleep a little, but I hope the show will continue when I wake up in 1an hour and a half. Sweet dreams. See you tomorrow," Tanguy de Lamotte (Initiatives cœur) confided in a message last night.

 

After a diabolical Doldrums Arnaud Bossières (Akena Verandas) is on the tail of Tanguy de Lamotte (Initiatives cœur) wanting to take his newly acquired 10th place for himself. A 1026 miles from the leader, Bertrand De Broc (Votre Nom Autour du Monde with EDM) also benefited from the fine conditions, covering 305 miles in the last 24 hours. Bringing up the rear the sea gardener Alessandro Di Benedetto (Team Plastique) continues his adventure of a lifetime 1250.6 miles from the front.

[Guest]

Breaking News

Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) torpedoes into second place at the 1500 GMT ranking today. Although he feels it will be short lived, “up to 2nd place on the rankings! Will be short lived when Macif and Virbac get the new wind first but happy anyway!”

 

Fleet News:

The jackal, Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) is watching the fleet in his rear view mirror as he accelerates away from them. The chasers are floundering in the fickle conditions in the corridor between the St Helena High and the swirling depression off the coast of Argentina. But the beau Breton is not complacent about his position.

 

Today, on the daily web tv show Vendée Globe LIVE hosted at the race headquarters at Montparnasse Station, Paris, France he said, “you cannot be sure of anything. I’m looking at the others. My northern strategy is clear. We’ll see how it goes in a few days. I’ll keep on with this plan. I’m passionate about these strategic moments. We are entering an important moment of the race. It’s very interesting to see how everyone is doing. At the beginning of the VG, it was more a speed race, now it’s becoming strategic.”

 

So the three dimensional chess game that Mike Golding loves is now on. Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec 3) despite losing ground is hoping that he has made the right call. “For the moment it’s ok. There is not too much wind. I like my position, I’ll deal with it. But I’m waiting for the wind. I try to remain rational. Sometimes you have to gamble. The strategy I have taken since the Brazilian coast seemed interesting. For the moment it is not very efficient but I thing it’ll go well in the coming days,” he said during the web tv show Vendée Globe LIVE.

 

Mike Golding (Gamesa) is by his own admission is struggling with the high pressure ridge, which is blocking his southerly progression. "It’s the third Doldrums of the race, it is very frustrating. The wind is up and down and it is pouring with rain. All night it has been like this. I had a steady afternoon yesterday, with 15kts of breeze. Then I had a little stoppage. Then it came back at 15kts, then 15kts from a bad direction, then I stopped again and since then it has been up and down. As I speak it’s just dropped to five knots. It is so up and down, it is hard to rest. It’s hard to see a way out right now, you kind of have to wait until the system moves and evolves. Certainly the wind is not doing what is says on the files.”

 

The weather models can only serve as a guide as to the conditions a skipper can expect but the only way to be sure of the conditions they are enduring is to go outside and have a look.

 

Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) despite his second place is enduring his own trials and tribulations and is not holding his breath, “it was a tough day yesterday and night with lots of cloud activity and variable wind which meant I got hardly any sleep. I have had some issues with the hydro charging so was working on that yesterday as well as some problems with the battery management system which is not alarming properly.”

 

Behind Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) is Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat) is stamping his feet. The inevitably of finishing his onboard husbandry due to damage to his genoa earlier in the race will eventually have to be faced but he is not willing to sacrifice boat speed at this critical time. “I’m sailing with 8-10 knots wind, it’s a little quite. I try to stay on the same position, even if I didn’t necessarily chose it. There is a lot of up and down wind. I have an average position, which is not good. I’m not very happy with it. I don’t know when I’ll be climbing the mast again. It’s an important day, because behind me they are coming back. I also have to look at the leader group. I don’t want to let them go to far away.” He said today, during the web tv show Vendée Globe LIVE.

 

Tanguy de Lamotte (Initiatives cœur) who last night bathed in the light of an almost full moon and ate his supper under the moonlit clouds and stars. “Yesterday, was the perfect day and night. The sunset was really lovely with a few clouds, with amazing colours and I really enjoyed it. I had some dinner sitting on the back of the boat with the moon on my left. It was bright and gave a lot of light.” Having enjoyed his romantic dinner for one, he is aware that Arnaud Bossières (Akena Verandas), who has a much faster boat, is breathing down his neck to steal his 10th place. He is resigned to this inevitability “I don’t have sails as big as these other guys so I know they are faster. I will have to be clever on my choice of heading to be not too far away from them but I don’t have much choice.”

 

Arnaud Bossières (Akena Verandas), told his team by phone this morning. "I am well rested. I fell into a light wind hole and then got going again around 5-6 am. There are things happening ahead, slowing us down. We need to avoid the area so it does stop us. The path should be fairly straight. Admittedly, it does not double but two or four boats you go faster which will perhaps help tighten the gap. It is the goal! Life on board is very nice. In any case it is a pleasure to navigate this moment is indescribable.”

 

The rear of the fleet, Javier Sanso (Acciona 100% EcoPowered), Tanguy de Lamotte (Initiatives cœur), Arnaud Bossières (Akena Verandas) and Bertrand De Broc (Votre Nom Autour du Monde with EDM) must take advantage of winds to accelerate to the southern hemisphere. Bertrand de Broc is hungry for something more vigorous. "The South Seas, this is why we came?” he said today, during the web tv show Vendée Globe LIVE It is only matter of time before the fleet arrives into the deep, cavernous reaches of the brutal Southern Ocean.

[Guest]

With 760 miles to go until the boats arrive at the first mark Gough Island, which they must leave to starboard, everything is still to play for in this nail biting strategic climax to the gateway of the southern ocean. If the fleet compresses it means the drag race through the mountainous swells of the icy south seas and leaves the race wide open.

 

1992 Vendée Globe winner and French sailing legend Alan Gautier, explained the position on the web tv show, Vendée Globe LIVE He said, “the skippers have been thinking hard for three days now, looking for the right strategy. Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec 3) and the “West Group” (François Gabart (MACIF) and Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel) are doing all right, maybe better than Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) in the end, but it’s easy to say that now. When they actually made their choices, things weren’t that obvious.”

 

Gaultier continued to say that it’s hard for skippers when there is no wind, not only because they are not moving, but also because they know their opponents are probably getting different conditions and maybe doing better than they are, so psychologically, it’s difficult.

 

He added “the next few days will be very exciting for the sailing enthusiasts who follow the Vendée Globe, because there’s a big group that will enter the South together.”

The skippers are now committed to their definitive strategy and the first five are all possible winners. It is now a matter of luck and speed as who will gain and lose around the edges of the high pressure the anticyclone of St Helena casting her windless nets in the South Atlantic.

 

If the Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec 3) and the “West Group” (François Gabart (MACIF) and Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel) are fast over next couple days, and the hole of the high does not extend east then they might edge by in front and make their escape below it. The models are showing the advantage with them and they could make a rapid advance below into the favourable winds, before the High can suck them into its windless car park. If they are successful they will compress the fleet, and make gains towards the ice gate.

 

The situation for Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) depends on how much boat speed he can make in the circling lighter winds 10-12kt winds. If he can sail a shorter course he may be able to bypass the high but the risk is that he could end up with less advantageous wind direction and handcuffed by a high pressure.

 

Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) is nervous that he will lose the 200 mile advantage that he has in the bank over Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel). Today on the web tv show Vendée Globe LIVE he said, “it’s pretty nerve wracking really for all of us. We are just waiting for the wind. Armel and I need this ridge to move out of the way and we can’t really do anything until the ridge has gone. And those west guys it does look like the wind is filling in for them now. I have been go through the options of what I could do. Four days ago I was 80 miles behind Virbac, and I could be 80 miles behind Virbac now, where Synerciel is, and so my thinking is, that I am still 200 miles better off than Jean is right now, as long as I still have something in the bank at the end of this; I guess I’ll be happy, but it certainly isn’t going to be 200 miles.”

 

The skippers receive the same weather files every 12 hours which show them the conditions they potentially could encounter. On Vendée Globe LIVE the web tv show broadcast every day from the race headquarters at Gare Montparnasse in Paris, Mike Golding (Gamesa) explained where the weather models often don’t reflect the more localised conditions, “now it’s quite reasonable and we are starting to see the reality that the model is predicting. Where the models fall down is when you get into a very unstable area of light winds where there are light shifty bits, the model can’t show you that and it can only show you an average, and consequently, you come into an area, and you have a wind with a 180 degrees difference.” Therefore, we can deduce that what is forecast and what occurs cannot predicted and so we too like the skippers must wait and see how the next few days play out.

 

The compression of the fleet is likely and Mike Golding (Gamesa) is confident that there are gains to be made which will see the top eight all enter the southern ocean together. The stage has been set and patience is the only option as the conclusion unravels over the next few days. It is a poker game where the player’s conviction ranges from resolute to exhausted. Only the arrival of the rankings every four hours can offer an answer. In a war of nerves, knowing how to negotiate the best course through light winds is paramount.

 

The small pack of pursuers, are making good headway. Javier Sanso (Acciona 100% EcoPowered), Tanguy de Lamotte (Initiatives Cœur), Arnaud Bossières (Akena Verandas) and Bertrand De Broc (Votre Nom Autour du Monde avec EDM) the tactics of the front guns is the least of their concerns. It's all about pushing the boats and picking off the miles in the hope they can claw something back. They are trucking along in ideal conditions. In two or three days, the course will, also, change for them.

 

Watch web tv Vendée Globe LIVE every day at midday GMT to watch the latest news LIVE from the race track.

 

 

THEY SAID...

 

I’m fine, hi! My speed isn’t very regular, but it’s better than I expected, I’ve never stopped completely, which is good. The sky is very blue, with just a few clouds, the sea is calm and I’m sailing at 7-8 knots. I’m trying to stay north of the no-wind zone. If I had done exactly what I wanted, I wouldn’t be here right now. So far so good, I’ll try not to lose this momentum.

 

Bernard Stamm (SUI, Cheminées Poujoulat)

 

It’s Wednesday right? So everything’s fine this Wednesday morning. I’m starting to move more, but earlier this morning, things were very calm for about four hours. We’ve all made our choices regarding how and when to cross the ridge, it’s done now, we’ll see who did the right thing quite soon. I’ve had less wind than I had planned. I know Jean-Pierre will go fast now, but I haven’t spent time checking how he will do. I can’t do anything about it anyway, so we’ll see. Right now, my speed is 10 knots.

 

Armel Le Cleac'h (FRA, Banque Populaire)

 

I think my progression will be impressive, I’m extremely satisfied with my choices. Armel isn’t doing too well. Very soon, we’ll be in typical Southern conditions, no doubt about it. No more sunbathing, hello fleece jackets! It’s more exciting but I know that I will get tired of it after a few days.

I’m very happy with the changes that were made on my boat, what a great boat! I think I can be third in a month if everything goes well.

 

Jean Le Cam (FRA, Synerciel)

 

I’m doing great! The wind is very favourable, and it is rotating the way I thought it was so it’s all good and very pleasant. The moon is beautiful at night, very bright, so it’s perfect. It’s quite sunny out there, and the temperature is dropping slighty, I can feel it at night especially. I can tell we’re reaching the South! In terms of strategy, the three chasing skippers have done great. Javier Sanso, Bertrand de Broc and myself will have favourable conditions, too, we won’t get slowed down the way some others were. It’s much less complicated for us than it’s been for Armel, Bernard Stamm or HUGO BOSS. I have my winter hat on, especially at night.

 

Arnaud Boissières (FRA, Akena Vérandas)

I’m very happy with how things are going for me, my choice of sailing around the ridge is definitely paying off. The sea is quite calm, the temperature inside is 27° and the weather is beautiful. Sailing in such conditions just feels great.

Everything is ready on board, and I’m ready for the South. I’m looking forward to reaching that area because it’s too calm here, I want more waves! Fighting with Golding and Le Cam is so exciting, this is such a great race!

[Guest]

Fleet News:

It was resolute Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) that appeared on the live Visio video link up on Vendée Globe LIVE today. He said, “I went around the St Helena anticyclone. I am heading to the first Ice gate. I am looking at the others and I believe we won’t be very far away from each other in 48 hours. We have two different weather forecast models: a European and a America. I try to adapt my journey according to both of them. For me Dick is the leader of the western group. They all did a great come back (Le Cam, Golding and Wavre) as they almost never stopped.”

 

Holding on to 2nd place, is Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) who said that. “If I don’t have any more slow patches tonight I may hold on to 2nd place for much of today but at some point I will relinquish that position to Virbac and then another to Macif. There is nothing I can do, the cards have been dealt and although I knew this when I climbed into the 2nd place I have now got used to it and don’t want to give it up!”

 

He explained in his latest update that his saving grace over the last few days has been the wind angle. “I have been sailing much tighter wind angles than the guys to the west which in the lighter winds has meant I have been able to get the best possible speed from the boat for that wind angle. HUGO BOSS is also performing well and exceeding the polars (best theoretical speeds) all of the time. This is helped by the flat water and maybe by the long ocean swell which is coming at us from the south west.”

 

Alex wrote that in a little under two days a weather front will cross the fleet and the wind will go from the north to the south west. The fleet will gybe and continue to the ice gate and be followed by a ridge of high pressure which will probably slow them all down. He is not expecting it to last to long and is expecting the fleet to pass the ice gate of Aiguilles on the morning of the 2nd Dec.

 

The race routing will follow great circle to the next ice gate. There have been reports of an ice berg 500 miles south east of the first ice gate. The skippers will not be want to see their frozen enemy ice.

 

A few days ago, Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec 3) lead the charge in the western group, when he launched his southern attack to avoid the Saint Helena High. He is now sailing at speed towards Gough Island the first gate, which the fleet must leave to starboard. The outcome of this bold choice will be decided, within a matter of 24 hours. The skippers are now preparing to enter the Southern Ocean. Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec 3) is looking forward to it.

"I feel like I am returning to my world! I like to sail in the very wild, very beautiful Southern seas. I am wearing underlayers and soon, I will put on my boots.”

 

François Gabart (MACIF) has climbed into 4th position and is tailing Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec 3) by 6 miles, he spoke confidently today on the web tv show, Vendée Globe LIVE

“I am fine. I start to get some more wind. I am pleased to be in the lead group. I am ready to enter the Southern Ocean; I have everything ready on the boat.The next days are going to be easy.”

 

Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel) has jumped ahead of the pack of senior sailors. Mike Golding said today, "I'm feeling good. I think we are in a good place, Jean [Le Cam] is in a better place. Overall we are going to make a close on the lead group and that is the most important thing at this stage. The exact amount is difficult to predict. Armel [Le Cléac'h, current race leader] is going better than I would have forecast, but none the less, he did well on the last poll, Alex [Thomson] is keeping going which is good, but again, we seem to make little gains on each poll and that is how we lost the miles and that is how we get them back.

 

I think everyone was expecting this front to come in harder than it has, certainly I was. And we are pretty close to being down south, it is cooling off, the shorts are off, we are in foulies on deck and it is time to get wet. But still it is a beautifully sunny day, blue skies, very fast sailing, we aren't quite there yet [the Southern Ocean], but not far away."

Dominique Wavre (Mirabaud) is keeping up with the chasing pack by the skin of his teeth. The weather models are predicting that he will get to Gough Island and the first gate just in time before the St Helena High close the wind door on the back pack.

 

The Back Pack

The fleet splits now into two races. There is no way that the back pack, lead by the fastest boat of the group, Javier Sanso (Acciona 100% EcoPowered) will be able to join the leaders in the same system in the Southern Ocean. Behind the powerful depression that is charging the western riders into a gainful position is a wallowing high that will cast it’s airless net over Bubi and those behind him.

 

“We continue with a good pressure and good luck. But it remains to be seen how long it will last. I think by noon tomorrow we'll see how much we will lose over those that will escape. In three days time we will enter a difficult phase which is difficult to predict at the moment where it will go. I only hope that those in front will not take too much in advantage but hey, we are only at the beginning of the race and there will still be plenty of opportunities.”

 

Facing uncertainties, the back pack have no choice but to put their foot down to avoid the trap. "We must quickly put coal in the machine so that we continue the fast rides" says Arnaud Bossières (Akena Verandas) whose main ambition is to "stay in the same weather system and to be on the lookout." Indeed, the centre of the anticyclone of St. Helena moves quickly and the three boats, Javier Sanso (Acciona 100% EcoPowered), Arnaud Bossières (Akena Verandas) and Bertrand De Broc (Votre Nom Autour du Monde avec EDM) are desperate to avoid having to divert further south to pick up the wind. It’s a race against time.

[Guest]

RECORDS TUMBLE

 

Breaking News

Jean Pierre Dick today smashed the record he only set yesterday. Yesterday, between 9am GMT Friday 30th November to 9am GMT Saturday 1st December, Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec 3), travelled from point to point, 502,53 miles in twenty-four hours, averaging speeds of 20.9 knots. Yesterday, between 4am GMT Friday 30th November to 4am GMT Saturday 1st December Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec 3) travelled from point to point, 498.80 miles in twenty-four hours, averaging speeds of 20.8 knots, which subsequently broke the record held previously by Alex Thomson in 2003 and, also the record set the day before, which would have been subject to ratification, by François Gabart (MACIF), of 482.91 miles in 24hrs.

 

Confirmation of the record is subject to the ratification of the WSSRC (World Speed Sailing Record Council).

These phenomenal speeds are faster than the speed records set in the 2007 Barcelona Race double handed round the world race, held by Alex Thomson/Andrew Cape, onboard Hugo Boss, GBR, traveling 501.3 miles, averaging 20.9 knots and just slower than the 2011 record set by Jean Pierre Dick/Loick Peyron, Virbac Paprec, FRA, covering 506.333 miles averaging knots.

Since yesterday, three boats in the fleet have smashed into smithereens Thomson’s record, including Thomson himself.

All speeds were recorded on the 1st December.

 

Macif 1st December 0530 GMT 487.23, 20.3 knots average

Cheminées Poujoulat 1200 GMT 482.59, 20.1 knots average

Hugo Boss 1000 GMT 473.87, 19.7 knots average

Ultimately, of course, for now, the record has been broken by Jean Pierre Dick, but the race is young, and the conclusion is yet to be realised.

 

Fleet News

The record breaking Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec 3) retains his lead by a thread. He said today, during the web tv show, Vendée Globe LIVE, “It’s great to be the new leader, the conditions are perfect, there’s a lot of wind. We’ve tried to be reasonable and the future will tell us whether we’ve done the right thing. Breakage can happen in any situation anyway, and in the long term too. But we also know our boats can take those intense conditions”.

 

But for the tallest skipper in the fleet life onboard can be challenging. “I spend a lot of time on my knees, it’s hard to stand, and do basic things like cooking. I feel like I’m camping. I also try to get some sleep, but it’s difficult, because we’re shaken hard and there is a lot of noise. But after a while, you get used to that noise. But sleep is so important that at one point, you have to sleep, whatever the context, and when you’re as tired as I’ve been, you fall asleep anyway.”

 

The fleet is beginning to slow a little and the models depict the conditions lightening as they approach the first Ice Gate, Aiguilles. With only 20 miles between the leader, Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) and François Gabart (MACIF) the first to cross the gate is still to be determined in this dramatic battle. With lighter conditions forthcoming at the second gate past Aiguilles, it could create an opportunity for the fleet to compress and the tailing trio of Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel), Dominique Wavre (Mirabaud) and Mike Golding (Gamesa) to claw back some miles. There are some tactically interesting times ahead.

 

Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat) who is sailing his weapon, a new design by Juan Kouyoumdjan, said today on Vendée Globe LIVE today that he felt the boat still had more to give but he was happy with it’s performance and he didn’t want to push it to hard. Stamm was still clocking the fastest speed of 20 knots at the 1500 GMT ranking.

 

The front eight boats have gybed and are now on starboard tack. Today, on Vendée Globe LIVE Mike Golding (Gamesa) explained this process.

 

“The shift, when it came, came pretty quickly, although I was semi prepared it was still quite complicated, because the shift was quite large it put us in to a nasty head sea which meant the boat was slamming, so not a great situation for a gybe but it went through alright with no problems and we got going initially on almost exactly the same heading with the same sail plan.” It’s not a small undertaking.

 

“You can do the whole thing in around 20 minutes, you are emptying ballast from one side and while the ballast is emptying you can be moving the heavy stuff like sails, you can drop it all down, depending how long that has taken you might be able to move some of the boxes as well, but if you can’t, if the ballast is empty you just go for the gybe and then you move the boxes later, so about 20 minutes for the whole process. It feels a bit strange on board because we are leaning the other way and it feels like everything is upside down.” Said Golding.

 

Trouble at the Back

 

The back-pack are floundering with frustration as the St. Helena High closed the wind window south of the small group of tenacious travellers. Javier Sanso (Acciona 100% EcoPowered) and Arnaud Bossières (Akena Verandas) chose to bypass the high pressure taking a short cut, whilst Bertrand De Broc (Votre Nom Autour du Monde avec EDM) seeks an alternative route to the west.

 

Alessandro Di Benedetto (Team Plastique) has only one choice but he is happy washing his laundry, growing his herbs and enjoying the adventure. Times are tough for the quartet. These delays continue to widen the gap between them and frontrunners. It is important they remain pragmatic, focus on the fundamentals of sailing the boat and take time to appreciate the joy of being at sea. To sail solo around the world on these fantastic boats remains a privilege that it would be churlish not to appreciate.

[Guest]

Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel) realised last night that he was slowing down and that all was not well with his Bruce Farr designed Open 60. After a thorough examination of his boat, and asking himself many questions about the set up, he realised that his problem was below the waterline. The following morning, he checked under his hull and realised a fishing net was stuck around the lower part of his keel.

 

After three failed attempts to get rid of the net by moving his boat, the SynerCiel skipper eventually decided that he was left with no choice but to dive under it, which took around thirty minutes at 10am GMT this morning. He stopped the boat, put on his scuba diving equipment and took his knife with him. Everything went well and SynerCiel is now back in the race.

 

At midday, Jean Le Cam called his team and explained: “After trying everything I could to get rid of that net, I had no choice, I had to dive. I geared up, stopped the boat, and went for it. At first I tried to cut it all at once but it just wasn’t working. I said to myself ‘s**t, that’s not good’. So I cut one part after the other and it worked out. It was a huge net!”

 

Despite being born to sail Jean Le Cam, nicknamed ‘Le Roi Jean’ or King Jean does not like swimming at all so it was very grumpy King that was forced to make like a rebellious fish and cut himself free of the net today.

 

The incident has cost him a few miles and a place in the rankings to Mike Golding but he is now back in action and returns to his the warpath.

 

Fleet News

 

The leaderboard is shuffling around between the leading trio, François Gabart (MACIF) Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec 3), Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) at each ranking. They battle it out within a mere 16 miles of each other, as they tonight approach gate of Aiguilles, the first Ice Gate on the Vendée Globe race course.

 

But in a week of records being broken it looks like, after twenty-two days at sea, the record set by Vincent Riou in 2004, of 24 days, 2 hours, 18 minutes, between Les Sables d'Olonne and the Cape of Good Hope, is now seriously being contended. The Cape of Good Hope lies only a day and a half sail away for the three riders at the front. It’s simply a matter of time.

 

The current leader at today’s 4pm ranking, François Gabart (MACIF) during the web tv show, Vendée Globe LIVE today, is about to enter unchartered waters.

 

“We’re still going really fast, the sea is tougher so we can’t be as fast as we’ve been these past couple of days. I had to manoeuvre quite a lot but I’ve had time to rest, too. It’s always nice to be ahead of the others, there’s no reason for me to be afraid, intimidated or nervous. The boat is doing great, it’s so satisfying. I should be at the Aiguilles gate around 8PM tonight (UTC). I’m now going to enter seas I have never sailed in before, I’m 15 miles away from where I dismasted. So starting now, everything is going to be new. But it’s still the sea, with water and waves. It’s no big deal, really.”

 

 

The temperature is dropping and the front boats are no longer basking temperate climates.

 

“The temperature has dropped, but it’s still all right, not very cold yet. But I’ve taken my boots, oilskin and fleece jacket out of the bag. Same for the sea, it’s agitated but bearable. I think I’ve seen my first albatrosses, they’re following the boat.” Said François Gabart (MACIF).

 

The Albatross is the largest flying seabird in the world and lives in the north Pacific and the Southern Ocean. Initial sightings of the albatross serve as an indicator to the skippers that they are reaching the chilly, treachery of the southern seas.

 

Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat), said today in a recording on Vendée Globe LIVE “The boat is doing ok, the only issue I have is the hydrogenerator problem, I’ll need to fix it. I don’t even have to push the boat 100%. I could take more risks in my manoeuvres and sails choices, but ‘m not even sure it would make a big difference in the end.”

 

It was a seemingly weary, Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) today, on the Vendée Globe LIVE, although the teleconference was plagued by a terrible phone connection, said, that he hoped his slightly more northerly position will be play out well in the next few days. Perhaps the last few days of hurtling the oceans at record breaking speeds was taking its toll on the British skipper, who is sailing an incredible race onboard his Farr 60.

 

Mike Golding (Gamesa) gained back his 6th position back today as a result of Jean Le Cam being caught up in a net. Golding, however, is experiencing frustrating conditions that are not giving him the gains he would prefer, but he is pragmatic and knows he must persevere with the hand he has been dealt.

 

Grindingly slow

 

For the pack at the back, Arnaud Bossières (Akena Verandas), Tanguy de Lamotte (Initiatives Cœur) and Bertrand De Broc (Votre Nom Autour du Monde avec EDM) the weather situation is twisted. Although, they may reap the dividends as they bypass the high-pressure cell, which has halted their road to the west. Soon, they may have the chance to regain the miles their misfortune has cost them because the frontrunners are about to slow down.

 

Javier Sanso (Acciona 100% EcoPowered) and Alessandro Di Benedetto (Team Plastique) have no such worries. The first seems to have escaped the poisonous charms of St. Helena, and the Italian navigator, continues to extol the simple joys of life on an ocean wave.

 

On the bright side, there could be a small consolation for the back pack; the weather for them over the next few days should be a little tricky. The Gate Crozet, located at 39 ° S, is preventing a solitary dive south to board the express train of depressions in the Southern Ocean. To add further spice a new high is being formed in the south-eastern tip of Africa. The leaders have two choices: to risk a short, but slow route through the high, or to circumvent these high pressures from the south and stay in the westerly winds. But to do this, it forces them to plunge 48 ° S latitude, where a number of icebergs have been spotted by CLS and CROSS, who provide the data to the race. It’s either go slow and follow the direct course, risking the leadership, or play the southern option card and risk the ice minefield. In either case, chills are guaranteed ...

 

 

 

THEY SAID...

 

 

Hi all, I’m doing great, and so is the boat. There’s a lot of wind so I’m feeling confident and happy. I’m sailing at 11-12 knots. I’ve sailed across the tropic of Capricorn last night, it’s special to me because I’m a Capricorn! I’m behind the others but the only good thing about it is that the weather is still nice and pleasant for me, I can still sunbathe, which is something the others can’t do!

Yet I can’t wait to get out of the St Helena anticyclone and sail to the Southern Ocean.

 

Alessandro Di Benedetto (FRA-ITA, Team Plastique)

 

 

The conditions were good, so I used that opportunity to check little things on the boat. I climbed up the mast because I had to replace a device that gives the speed and direction of the wind. I was glad to see the mast is in a perfect state. I’ve been manoeuvring a lot lately because I don’t want to go west too soon. And when I do, I get drenched, really!

Tanguy de Lamotte (FRA, Initiatives-coeur)

 

 

 

The weather conditions I’m facing right now are really not good, St Helena is making my life miserable. The good news is they allowed me to fix a few things on board, like people do at home on Sundays. It’s good to do that before the conditions get really tough in the south. I had a hydrogenerator issue, but it’s all good now after I spent two hours working on it. Things are starting to get better now, the wind will be more favourable starting tonight, I’m looking forward to that. The changes in the gates, which are now very much north, may give us a few interesting opportunities.

 

Bertrand de Broc (FRA, Votre Nom autour du monde avec EDM Projets)

 

 

We’re all very close, the three of us. We’ll reach the Aiguilles gate together, I guess. The wind is strong, we’re going fast, and there are big gusts, it’s getting really wet on board. Time for boots and oilskins! Banque Populaire is now in winter configuration but when I need to manoeuvre outside, it’s cold! Even though the fight is tough, I still have time to follow sports results, like how the French athletes are doing in nordic skiing and football, I know PSG lost. I slept pretty well last night, and I’ve eaten well lately, I’m doing ok.

 

Armel Le Cléach (FRA, Banque Populaire)

[Guest]

Fleet News

Only 30 minutes. This is the gap that separated the first boat through the Gate of Aiguilles, François Gabart (MACIF) and the third boat, Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire); a metaphorical photo finish in a race that covers 24,000 miles. It is incredible that the boats are racing so tightly. At 0400 GMT, this morning, there was only a mere 14 miles separating the three leaders in this nail biting edition of the 2012 Vendée Globe.

 

The lead pack have now entered mythical seas. A place where tales can only be told by a few; tales of the albatross, the tinted grey light, the jet black mountainous savage seas, majestic icebergs and minefields of growlers, large semi-submerged chunks of solid, boat breaking ice.

 

Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat) remains in the game 89.2 miles behind. The front fleet have their foot down to make the most of the conditions as the new ice gate at Crozet is showing lighter airs. It’s a time for tactical choices and canny decisions. The next 1000 miles for them will be exciting.

 

Behind them by 182.4 miles, Brit Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) crossed the gate this morning, his speeds are slowing and the gap between him and the front four slowly widens.

Around 400 miles behind, Mike Golding (Gamesa) Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel), and Dominique Wavre’s (Mirabaud) are chomping at the bit with impatience to enter the Indian Ocean; but for them, it will be tomorrow morning. They are struggling with a westerly wind and fickle seas.

 

The Spaniard Javier Sanso (Acciona 100% EcoPowered) is still feeling some of the effects of the St Helena High. Sailing at an average speed of only 8 knots, he is frustrated to still be stuck in these light conditions and is eager to push on. Arnaud Bossières (Akena Verandas), meanwhile, must be beginning to tear his hair out. He is wallowing at the heart of the high, and has only covered 80 miles in the past 24 hours! Tanguy de Lamotte (Initiatives Cœur) in the wake of Arnaud Bossières (Akena Verandas) is gambling that he can avoid some of the high to the east, while Bertrand De Broc (Votre Nom Autour du Monde avec EDM) is beginning to make some gains from his southerly route. Of course, Alessandro Di Benedetto (Team Plastique) happily continues on his merry way.

 

Ice threat

The race partner organizations specializing in satellite observations have discovered (the second ice gate, Crozet has been rising) an abnormal concentration of icebergs, around the Kerguelen Islands. The race direction of the Vendée Globe yesterday informed the skippers that a new gate called Amsterdam (40 ° 00 E 00S/077 ° - 40 ° S/084 ° 00 00 E) must now be passed. The objective is to protect the skippers by preventing the fleet heading too far south in search of better winds but instead discovering greater danger.

[Guest]

Fleet News

 

There is just over 50 miles to go before the fleet reaches the longitude of South Africa’s most southern tip, the Cape of Agulhas, which serves as the true gateway into the Indian Ocean. However, the symbolic crossing of the meridian may go unnoticed by the competitors because they have their sights firmly set on the Gate of Crozet.

 

But the leading trio, lead by Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) but with Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec 3) and François Gabart (MACIF) hot on his tail are engaged in a fight with unusual intensity. It will be recorded in the annals of Vendée Globe history as one of the fiercest charges into the Indian Ocean as the three pretenders shuffle continually up and down the leaderboard each day.

 

Over the last 24 hours the boats have slowed down following the record breaking speeds of a few days ago and it has given the skippers the respite they needed to be able to scrutinise their boats and ensure they are still in tact. “The sea is getting bigger and bigger. There are some 4-5 meters holes. The sun is coming back; we have softer conditions than the days before. It allows me to check out the boat. We have been sailing very fast for the last couple of days so it’s important to check out the boat.” Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) said today, on Vendée Globe LIVE.

 

The next hurdle to overcome is which route to choose when negotiating the quickest path through the wallowing high, which blocks their road to the gate of Crozet. They have two options available to them; the short cut around the western edge of the high and then dive into the south, or make an attempt to circumvent the high on the south side, the longer distance but with stronger winds and then join it the eastern edge gate. By the first option they run risk of being trapped in the high and with the second, the software depicts a busy road south, traversing through a minefield of icebergs located between Heard Island and the Crozet Archipelago. Decisions, decisions.

 

Behind this trio, Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat), and Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) appear to be losing ground. Thomson was pragmatic in his email report today, “At the moment, the rich are getting richer, the guys ahead are extending as I am from the guys behind. Once we all get into the same weather we will go the same speed until the 7th when the leaders and I will run into a high pressure, slow up and the fleet will compress again. It is like we are attached by a piece of bungy!”

 

Gradually, Mike Golding (Gamesa), Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel), and Dominique Wavre (Mirabaud) are making their way out of the weather system that assists leaders. "We are into the new breeze now, heading downwind and will get headed progressively to make the gate. It is a little too puffy for a spinnaker and the Code sails are never that good when you are trying to run deep. Everything is fine with the boat. I had a good look round yesterday when we flattened out. I was ready for the change. It was a lovely night, albatrosses by the boat. It feels like we are truly in the south.” Said Mike Golding (Gamesa).

 

Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel), is regaining is ground and looking to take back from Golding. He lost valuable ground yesterday, diving beneath his boat to cut away a fishing net that was entangled around his keel.

 

For the pack at the back the wind is beginning to fill in for Javier Sanso (Acciona 100% EcoPowered), Arnaud Bossières (Akena Verandas) and Tanguy de Lamotte (Initiatives Cœur) are beginning to make progress down the track. Further west, Bertrand De Broc (Votre Nom Autour du Monde avec EDM) is reaping the rewards of his southerly track and enjoying speeds of over fifteen knots.

 

The new ice gate Amsterdam

 

Today, Mike Golding (Gamesa), echoed the sentiments of many, and as much as it may be an inconvenience for the skippers to have the fleet pushed into lighter airs by the introduction of new ice gate, not a single one of them wants to collide with boat breaking icebergs and growlers.“I think in the end they will shuffle all the gates and they have added another one. I have seen the detailed ice information and it is pretty clear why they have done it. There is a lot of known ice down there. They don’t want us dicing with ice and so it is better to play it safe.”