Vendée Globe

For the last two competitors the daily stress, fuelled by a still sustained wind and very chaotic seas, is now heightened by the concern of negotiating a way to the finish of the Vendée Globe in the very, very light winds forecast. Karen Leibovici (Benefic), 200 miles to the West of Cape Finisterre and Raphaël Dinelli (Akena Verandas) abeam of the island of Yeu, are wearing themselves out getting the most out of their boats as they become more and more marked by 4 months of effort. These two sailors are picking their way through two very different scenarios. Karen is on a direct tack towards the centre of the Bay of Biscay, while the local Vendée sailor is making some difficult tacks under the Breton coast. In this particular set up, Karen has managed to scrape back a hundred miles from Raphaël.

Upwind and more upwind. The wind is to the SE of Benefic which is
climbing up to Les Sables d’Olonne on starboard tack. Despite all her
physical and technical worries, Karen is showing great determination by
staying in this vein of wind. Her secondary pilot is holding out, but
the skipper is down to her last few drops of diesel. Without power, she
is compelled to helm in spite of the pain, in seas which she qualifies
as heavy, to the extent that any movement on deck is both dangerous and
tiring. By tying off her helm she is able to get a few minutes rest,
whilst maintaining an acceptable heading. Her proximity to the shipping
lanes is adding to her problems as she worries about a vast zone of
calm settling on zone, between her and the finish line. More than ever
before ‘Karen Courage’ is tracking down that little bit extra from deep
within, and making as much easting as she can. At her current speed,
Benefic may well make the finish on Sunday afternoon.

Between
the light patch in the North and the stagnation in the South, Raphaël
Dinelli is having to decide on the lesser of numerous evils. There is a
prevailing SE’ly wind systematically pushing Akena Verandas back
towards Spain. Raphaël is trying to close in on it by tacking. As soon
as he moves too close on the wind, his tired boat slams hopelessly in
the chaotic seas. “I’m battling like never before” he says. “There are
heavy seas and I have to preserve the boat. I broke the first reef last
night and I have to repair it in order to have a storm sail. Added to
the look out for cargo ships is that of fishing boats. I hope to make
it to the channel in Les Sables on Saturday afternoon.”

For
Karen and Raphaël alike, this last stretch will be the most laborious.
The countdown to the finish finally seems to have begun though as they
draw ever closer to picking up the final 12th and 13th places in the
Vendée Globe 2004/2005. Translation Kate Jennings

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