Vendée Globe

From Karen Leibovici (Benefic), over 2000 miles from the finish, to Benoît Parnaudeau 450 miles from Les Sables d’Olonne, you have to admire the courage and determination of the 4 sailors still racing this Vendée Globe. Nearly a month after the arrival of the winner Vincent Riou (PRB), two women, Karen Leibovici and Anne Liardet (Roxy) and two men, Benoît Parnaudeau and Raphaël Dinelli (Akena Verandas) are battling, with an understandable lassitude, against the capricious elements which are making then pay dearly for each mile they make towards the Vendée coast.

A dejected Karen Leibovici is still struggling through what is
seemingly a meteorological magma, which has imprisoned her off Senegal
for the past 5 days. The young skipper will come within the 2000 mile
mark from the finish today, though she is all too aware of the extra
miles she will need to make when beating into what is proving to be a
particularly cruel forecast.

It is also looking quite nasty for
Benoît Parnaudeau and Anne Liardet too. Benoît is expected in Les
Sables d’Olonne on Thursday, though after a violent gust of wind, he is
today picking his way through some very light winds. Deliverance is in
sight now for Benoit however and his bow is finally pointing towards
home.

Anne Liardet is finally sailing on a N’ly course abeam
of Lisbon, her great sense of humour a particular asset in such
conditions. The wind is unstable both in strength and direction, though
the same cannot be said of the seas with a long swell from Ireland
making some very lumpy conditions for Roxy. “I’m being tossed about
between two squalls” she explained earlier, having fixed Sunday as her
arrival in Les Sables d’Olonne.

Raphaël Dinelli is also
savouring more favourable beam winds after several days of strong wind,
finally able to make good speed on a direct course. He hopes to stay on
the same point of sail for at least the next 24 hours, before he heads
East of the Azores and into a strong NE’ly headwind with the seas
running against him.

Back on shore since his finish last Friday,
American Bruce Schwab has decided to lift his boat out of the water
tomorrow, Wednesday, so as to coat the bulb and the keel. Prior to the
start Bruce cut away the little winglets fixed to the bulb but didn’t
have the time to give the bulb a thorough going over. The work on Ocean
Planet is only likely to take a day.
Translation Kate Jennings

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