Vendée Globe

The curtain of this 5th version of the Vendée Globe may well fall this Friday 11th March. Raphaël Dinelli (Akena Verandas) and Karen Leibovici (Benefic) are currently writing the final act in the ink of their courage and enthusiasm. The Bay of Biscay has proved ruthless for every one of the competitors since the start of February. It greets the sailors with the most hideous of days, a NE’ly wind and big seas, forcing them and their machines to extend the 23000 miles by a series of tacks. Raphaël is having to divert his now familiar course towards the North of Brittany, and aim instead for the Spanish coast! Meantime Karen is making good headway on a direct course but the going is very bumpy. The upshot of this is that the duo is now likely to round off their adventure this Friday, with little distance separating them.

Raphaël has had enough. He tacked last night onto what should have been the home straight but then suffered a brutal wind shift in the opposite direction. He is refusing to close excessively on the wind so as to protect his boat as best he can, but this has left him with a
disastrous heading towards the Spanish coast. He is tacking in vain each time the wind backs, the anticyclone gripping firmly onto him. The 400 remaining miles are actually extending out as the skipper tries to track down some more regular wind further South, patience being
paramount.

Karen Leibovici has been trying everything she can to stay ahead of the cold front for as long as possible, enduring the heavy seas to make a good heading and an interesting VMG. Caught up bythe zone of easing winds, she is making the most of the situation to round the area as quickly as she can and try to make some minor repairs to her halyards. The seas should become less messy as time goes by, though remaining from the SE. At the latitude of Porto, Karen is beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. She has less than 800 miles to go now, the majority of the voyage on her current starboard tack. As they keep a watch out for cargo ships, both Dinelli and Leibovici are suffering the fatigue and lassitude of 120 days alone
at sea, though the coming weekend in Les Sables d’Olonne will mark the end of what has been a fantastic adventure.

Quotes from the Boats:
Raphael Dinelli (Akena Verandas): “I’m totally knackered. It’s incredible! I didn’t stop all night long with multiple tacks and sail changes. It’s crazy. The wind is all over the place. It climbs up to 28 knots and then drops down again just a few minutes later to 7 or 8. As soon as I close on the wind, the boat slams and with my loose stays I’m afraid of breaking everything. I’m on a catastrophic tack towards Spain. It’s very choppy and I’m right on the shipping lane come motorway...I’m going to stay on this tack for a while while I await more regular wind.  I’ll make a stab at my ETA...I’ll say Friday morning...”

Anne Liardet (Roxy), in discussion with Raphaël: “We’re all waiting here for you for a massive party. Just grin and bear it, decide on a course and stick to it. Go and rest. It’s a lousy forecast and there’s nothing that can be done about it.”

Karen Leibovici (Benefic): “I ended up very suddenly without any wind last night and that’s still the case, though I don’t understand why as it’s not described on the weather files. As a result the boat is being tossed about in heavy seas which break without wind. It’s not very pleasant at all and it’s annoying as it is slowing my approach to Les Sables. It’s beginning to feel like a
really long time on the water, the engine isn’t running as I’ve broken the impeller (last spare part). It’s nothing much but you have to have the right piece. For the time being I’ve got sunshine which is a good thing for the solar panels, but if that continues, I really won’t have
any power left at all as at this speed even my water propeller doesn’t work. In short, too much wind or not enough, it’s never a happy medium.  Yesterday I spent the day trying to repair the main pilot. What with having to change the calculator and the various tests, I gave up on it
at midnight (GMT). I couldn’t take any more and the work proved fruitless. I went and had a sleep after having eaten a little...but I’m not having much fun as the hassles have really been stacking up in the last 48 hours especially, it’s incredible!”
Translation Kate Jennings

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