The numbers

Gitana Eighty's position this morning at 11 h, compared to last week at the same time, shows relatively little progress has been made towards the finish, but this hides the reality of the situation because of a modification made by the organisers  to the way they calculate the theoretical route.  So we prefer here to look at the gaps between the competitors.  Analysing these figures tells us what can clearly be seen on the charts.  The gaps have narrowed in the leading pack. On 16th November, Loïck Peyron's boat, which was already in the lead, was more than 100 miles ahead of the ninth placed competitor, Mike Golding (Ecover). A week later, the blue boat wearing the livery of Gitana, still leads the fleet, but is 93 miles ahead of the ninth placed competitor, Jean Le Cam (VM Matériaux). The group at the front, the ten leading boats less the unfortunate Jérémie Beyou, who has been forced to head off to the coast of Brazil (see below) has remained tightly packed.  The reason being that the speed differential between the new boats is tiny and the boats at the front were slowed down more than those chasing after them, once they had passed the Cape Verde Islands. 100 miles behind Jean Le Cam, we can find the second little group led by Dominique Wavre (Temenos II) with Bahrain Team Pindar, Safran and Roxy in his wake, then 100 miles further back, Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia), who has just overtaken Aviva and Akena Vérandas.  Apart from the "hunter" Desjoyeaux, the gap naturally widened between these boats and the leaders. The same is true, but even more so, for the boats bringing up the rear.  As Peyron was approaching the coast of Brazil, Jean-Baptiste Dejeanty (Maisonneuve) was sailing off Cape Blanc (near Dakar), still at good speed.

Passing the islands

Jean-Luc Nélias, has been following closely the progress of his friend, Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement) and had some interesting comments about the traps in the weather after the Bay of Biscay: «The skippers should have gybed in the high off Portugal to avoid the wind shadow of Madeira, the Canaries and the Cape Verde Islands. These islands spread along the route to the Equator offer a number of traps. Even if you avoid them by some distance, you can still feel the harmful effect: That is what happened to Safran, who suffered considerably off the Canaries.  Beyond the Cape Verde Islands, and even before then, the boats start to get in place to deal with the Doldrums. «Statistically, added Nélias, it is preferable to enter the Doldrums between 26° West and 30° West.»  This is where the zone is the least disturbed. That was the choice made by Roland Jourdain.  An advantage, but not a great one, as the Doldrums, as we know them, were not really there this time.

Down in the Doldrums, but not so miserable

It is between Cape Verde and the supposed latitude of the inter-tropical front, that the leading boats were slowed down, but in general, the way through the Doldrums did not really lead to any major upsets at the front. Roland Jourdain said: «I've never seen the Doldrums looking like that.  Not one single squall. There were no clouds. Consequently, although I had been planning to do my washing, the water to rinse off never came!»  Equally satisfied, Dominique Wavre pointed out: «I was expecting a fairly straightforward trip through, but I never thought it would be as easy as that.» The skipper, who admitted three days ago that he had lost track of the number of times he had been through, (19 if we have to count for him), added, «This is the first time it has been like that.  I can't get over it!»  Michel Desjoyeaux confirmed: «After being slowed down a bit in the Doldrums last night, the shift to the SE'ly trade winds was sudden.  So, I didn't worry about it and immediately hoisted the staysail (to face the SE'ly trade winds).»

Pilot problem on VM Matériaux

The skipper of VM Matériaux sailing to the east of his rivals grabbed first place from Loïck Peyron at one point in the rankings: it was at 11h on Tuesday 18th November. During the following night, the fuchsia boat's progress strangely slowed down, as if she had lost the wind. In fact, it was nothing to do with the wind, but rather a faulty automatic pilot.  Jean had three jacks on board his boat. When the incident occurred, he was using his electric tiller arm, which uses less energy than the hydraulic ones. In fact, the problem was not with the arm at all, but came from a  loose contact on a plug. It took him some time to identify the problem and get underway again. The boat drifted around for almost four hours.  The good news is that the equipment has been working perfectly since this happened, but the bad news is that it cost him around forty miles.  That may appear insignificant in terms of the round the world race, but in a close contact race, where the boats are capable of similar speeds, the slightest incident becomes a real handicap. 

Loïck Peyron reigns supreme

In spite of the permanent pressure from his rivals, whose goal is to overtake him, the French sailor, who will shortly be fifty remains remarkably serene and holds on to first place. He rejects any ideas of walking away with the race, but explains the method he uses to control the situation: «Each time, I just manage to sail that bit more quickly than the others. That involves many minor details, as each little detail counts.  I spend my time making small adjustments around the boat.  This is no holiday cruise!  The boats are being sailed at 100% of their capacity.» To be honest, his boat is comparable to those of his nearest rivals: BT, Paprec – Virbac 2 and PRB, designed by the Farr team.  As for what lies ahead, Loïck  comments: «This next phase will be a compromise between speed and course. We're going to have to get used to heeling over and choppy seas.»  It is also a moment, which affords the sailors time for some rest before they tackle the sharp bend at the bottom of the charts.  That moment, when the boats will put on their ‘left indicator’, will depend on how the St. Helena high develops next week.

The return of the late starters

Among those, who set out late from Les Sables d’Olonne due to technical problems, three are considered to be among the favourites. They are Dominique Wavre, Michel Desjoyeaux and Bernard Stamm. Dominique left Vendée early on Monday morning. In the rankings on 16th November, he was 14th, 240 miles from the leader. A week later, he is eleventh 210 miles behind. Michel Desjoyeaux set out again from Les Sables at 6 h 40 on Tuesday 11th November. On 13th, he was use 527 miles behind Loïck, on 16th 643 miles. At 11h today, the skipper of Foncia was in fifteenth place only 387 miles from the leader. Michel is awesome at all times, but the weather was with him too.   Bernard Stamm's progress is also amazing.  The skipper of Cheminées Poujoulat crossed the starting line 48 hours after Desjoyeaux.  In the rankings on 16th, his deficit was 1368 miles, but this morning had been cut to 888 miles.  Michel was faster between Les Sables and the Equator than Loïck and Bernard may well be able to say the same too. The comeback achieved by these skippers is excellent for their state of mind and for the race.  In addition to the latter two, we should also mention Jean-Baptiste Dejeanty, the youngest entrant in the race, who restarted aboard his Maisonneuve, a week after the official start. This morning, he had shaved 400 miles off the gap with the leaders. Another sailor, who should be pleased not to have given in to fate.  

Patrice Carpentier

Stop press

At 9h12 on Sunday morning Jérémie Beyou phoned the Race Directors to inform them of the damage. At around 7H UTC, Jérémie noticed that the rigging on the leeward side (starboard) was no longer attached to the mast, stopping him from changing tack. The sailor is in no danger  and is sailing at reduced speed towards the nearest land, Brazil. He is currently heading for Salvador da Bahia.